Regrets
by Lacie Alice Blackwood
Summary: Kristina Blackwood is a normal teenage girl living her life. She love reading fiction books and she believes that the characters from these books exist. She wanted to believe in the impossible. Until this day came to her. Until the day she became the impossible and she had to find people who were like her and become allies. Since this day, she regretted believing in the impossible.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**M**y name is Kristina Blackwood. I'm just a normal teenage girl living her life, ordinary.

I love reading fiction books such as Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, The Mortal Instruments series, and my favourite series of all time, Maximum Ride.

This might sound stupid, but I believe that the characters from many fiction books can and does exist, and believe they're all heroes.

I believe in the impossible... At least, I wanted to believe in the impossible...

Until this day came to me...

I run as blood drips out of my thigh and arm. I grasp his hand tight, as if I never want to let him go.

I try to breath... I try to think... I try to hold myself together...

We finally see a cliff. We don't hesitate and jump. We jump to an endless darkness.

I open my eyes and find myself alone, in darkness...

Then I started thinking. Thinking about the days when I was at home with my family, happily. Going to school every day. I miss my life...

**I **always wanted and wished to be special.

I dreamed of being a character from a fiction book...

But I never thought or believed that my dreams would actually come true.

That I would be the centre of everything to change my loved one's lives.

For once in my life, I hoped that I never had this dream, thought, belief, or this hope of mine.

For once in my life, I regret my desire, dream, and hope.

I regret being myself.

I wish I could go back and restart.

I wish for a second chance.

I wish to live.


	2. Chapter 1

"**Kristina**. Wake up!" my mom yelled.

With that single sentence, I woke up, sweating from my dream.

I knew that I dreamed of a nightmare. I just can't quit remember. All I remember is that I was running. Running away from something.

Well, it doesn't matter anyways. It was just a dream. Or at least I thought it was.

**Chapter 1**

**W**alking down the hallway of lockers and crowded students made me realize another day has begun and how much I wanted it to end.  
Standing in front of my locker pretending I'm organizing my locker and hoping one of my friends showed up to talk to me; made myself think like a loser.  
All I want to do right now is to home and read.  
If you're wondering and thinking of questions like ''Have you told anyone how much you enjoy reading books?'' Then the answer is obviously NO!  
People will think of me like a loser.

This is my tenth grade in Arizona Secondary School, and so far, nothing is going as I planned.  
Oh! Wait! Actually this is going just as my plan. Here comes my best friend Clary.  
"Hey You" said Clary.  
"Hey Clare" I said back.  
"It's good to see you" said Clary and gave me a slap in the back.  
"Oww" I yell out loud.  
At that exact moment, everyone in the hall way stared at me.  
Then Clary started talking  
"Dude I didn't even hit you that hard. You became really weak over the vacation" Clary gave me an awkward smile.  
"Ya maybe" I replied. I gave her a faint smile.  
Then we both walked to our morning classes and decided to meet at lunch.

The first period began. For me it was English, which was taught by a witch looking teacher with a monotone voice named .  
As was taking the attendance, I was thinking about what had happened this morning with Clary and me. It was the truth when she said she didn't hit me hard. It was just me who felt it like a rock. The truth is my back started hurting not too long ago. For some odd reasons it started hurting near the shoulder blade section of my back. It wasn't like I got a bruise or got hit by anything. Without a reason, it started hurting me so much; so I tried not to get anything touch or hit me in the back, but I was completely not paying attention this morning.

When I finally started paying attention to what was saying, the class ended.

I was standing in the line in the cafeteria, waiting for Clary to show up. But somehow, I ended up bumping into a person that I least wanted to bump into, Jace. I apologized immediately and walked away.  
Jace was my first crush in grade 8 elementary school. We used to sit beside each other for months and got along quit well, even though we argued most of the time. Back then, my friends thought he liked me and his best friend thought he liked me as well, but we never asked each other out, and time passed and we all graduated. When I first came to Arizona S.S. I hung out with 6 of my best friends from my elementary school who also came to Arizona S.S, Mariah, Holly, Daniel, Finn, and Jace. We used hang out together a lot, and we still do, but a lot of things had happened when we became high schoolers.

As I said, when me, Mariah, Holly, Daniel, Finn, and Jace were all best friends, we used to talk all together in the hall way after school and ate lunch together, until this one day.

It happened in the month of October. Holly started dating Daniel and Mariah started dating Finn, and I felt awkward talking to them or even eating with them. But also, their love relationships made me realize that I still haven't forgotten about Jace, but it was time to let him go an set myself free for a new start.

So I texted Jace saying

"Hey. First of all, this is not a confession, so don't take this in a wrong way. The truth is, I have liked you ever since grade 8, but I was never going to ask you out or anything. I'm just telling you this now because I just wanted to forget about you and move on. So ya bye".

Of course, I told both Daniel and Holly that I told Jace about my feelings. They were both shocked, but not that shocked.

Ever since that day, I never talked to Jace again, and eventually, Holly and Daniel broke up, and so did Mariah and Finn. Ever since this whole thing happened, three of us girls never talked to three of the guys. And I knew we could never go back and we would eventually move on.

1 year has passed.

We all eventually moved on. I now talk to everyone except Jace, but I knew eventually we would and have to talk to each other.

Now, I hang out with my two best girlfriends, Clary and Lily. We laugh, hang, and talk. It's been really fun hanging out with them and they were the ones who made me forget. I still miss the old times, but I believe that everything happens and happened for a reason and we would be back together someday.

I suddenly hear someone yelling my name out. It was Clary running down the hall way with her lunch bag and waving her hands at me, and I give her a big smile.

Then suddenly, I feel dizzy. I felt the smile on my face disappearing. I felt myself falling down. My back pain began to hurt much worse than before. I hear Clary yelling my name again, but this time she sounded terrified. She was then yelling for help. Then I fainted.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**I** open my eyes...

I find myself in the darkness. A dream of darkness. This darkness felt familiar.

Ah, I remember.

It feels like the dream that I had last night. But I still only remember the fact that I was running away from something.

I try to wake up. I slap myself and pinch myself. But it didn't work.

**T**hen suddenly, I see someone running through the darkness, but it was no longer the darkness I was in, I was on top of a building under a dark sky.

I follow the people who are running.

Then they suddenly stopped at the edge of the building. So I stopped as well.

I face them. I couldn't exactly see their faces because of the darkness of the night sky, but I knew for certain that they couldn't see me. I was invisible to them.

Soon, I realized that there were more than one person at the edge of the top of the building. They were looking across the building as if something or someone was following them. I turn around as well to see if there was anyone or anything following them, us. My eyes widen in surprise. I see tall and big figures across the building, but I couldn't exactly see what those figures were, nor that I could guess.

I turn back to face the people who were at the edge of the building, and saw one in the very front smiling at the big dark figures across from them. She somehow looked very familiar.

Then the small girl in the very front yelled

"Jump! Go Now".

"No. We jump together". The boy beside her replied.

"No. I still have to talk to him. I know he's here. He's hiding behind those monsters. I need to talk to him. He holds the key to the truth we're looking for. I'll be right behind you guys. Just go!" She said as she was looking for someone through the crowd of the big dark figures across them.

"We can figure out the truth later. We can't win against all of them." A girl said. For some reason, she sounded very familiar.

"She's right. We will figure out the truth, but not tonight. Let's go." Another boy replied. And again, he sounded familiar to me as well.

"No. It has to be tonight. We waited long enough!" The small girl shouted.

Everyone at the edge of the building including the boy beside her sighed, then they all nodded at each other, except for the small girl who just looked straight across."

Then suddenly, one of them jumped off the building. Then the others followed.

The boy beside her held her hand and pulled her with him off the edge. She yelled, but she couldn't let go.

I screamed in shock, but no one could actually hear me.

I suddenly hear loud running footsteps from across the building.

The big dark figures were running after the group who just jumped off the building, and they were running towards me. I screamed again, but I felt nothing. They just ran through me. I felt like a projection. I felt like watching a movie.

When the big dark figures got to the edge of the building, they stopped, then looked down.

At that moment, something made the dark figures fall back. Like a giant force of air or something.

Then I see the group who jumped of the building flying. Flying in the air. And they all had angel wings. They all looked down at the big dark figures and flied away, without looking back. But the small girl who didn't want to leave looked back, and for once I saw her face. Her expression was filled with anger, but she looked too familiar for me.

My eyes widened.

It was me.

I was the small girl flying.

I couldn't believe my own eyes.


	4. Chapter 3

**T**hen I see the group who jumped of the building flying. Flying in the air. And they all had angel wings. They all looked down at the big dark figures and flied away, without looking back. But the small girl who didn't want to leave looked back, and for once I saw her face. Her expression was filled with anger, but she looked too familiar for me.

My eyes widened.

It was me.

I was the small girl flying.

I couldn't believe my own eyes.

Then she flew away with the rest.

**Chapter 3**

**N**ow I really wanted to wake up. This was worse than a nightmare. This was impossible.

I always believed in Maximum Ride and other fictional books, but I didn't think it was possible.

No! It's not possible because this is still my dream. Just a dream. All I needed to do was to figure out a way to wake up, but I didn't know how.

So I just decided to wait. Wait till this ended itself.

But without thinking, I turned my way to face the group of big dark figures who were still there, standing.

Then I saw a human looking figure in middle of the crowd of the big dark figures. And I knew, automatically, that that guy was the "he", the other flying me was talking about. The one who held the key to the truth.

Suddenly, he turned to face me. At that moment, somehow, I knew he could see me. No one else could, but he could. And somehow, I knew I had to talk to him and he had to talk to me as well.

So I walked towards him, and he did the same.

I couldn't see his face. His face was covered by the darkness of the night.

But I knew he was wearing a pale white lab coat, and I knew he was either a scientist or a doctor.

For a moment, we just stared. Then he first began speaking.

"Ah. Hello Kristina. Sweetie." he said with a smile.

"Um... Hey. Do I even know you?" I asked without smiling.

"Oh. Of course not. At least, not yet. And not today." he replied.

"Okay then, Why am I here? Where am I?" I asked without hesitation.

"Relax, sweetie. We're safe." he smiled.

Now I was kind of freaked out, and felt annoyed and wanted to kick him. This guy sounded like a psycho. But I decided to just walk away.

But then he yelled "Wait." He sounded as if he desperately needed to talk to me. And I turned back.

Then he began speaking again "I'll get to my point."

"You are here because I wanted you to be and because you wanted to be. Remember how you always wanted and wished to be a superhero with super powers? Then you should be glad to hear this. Well you see Kristina, it was because you are one. And also because you are the first person who began '_turning__**'**_. I personally like to call it '_maturing'_, but it doesn't really matter. You are my masterpiece, Kristina. You were born to make a change. The biggest change in our history." Then he hesitated and started talking again.

"I see that you're now confused. Ah. Let me make this easier for you. Of course, you've read a series called 'Maximum Ride', correct?" He said

I nodded.

He started speaking again

"You see Kristina. That was a series of books that my company has written to make sure _**you**_ and the others like you read them. Of course, not all of them read it, but you did, and you were the one in particular we wanted to make sure read the books. You can guess why we wanted you to read the books right? Well, it doesn't really matter if you know now or not, because you will get to realize it sooner or later. You see, Kristina. You're special. Like Maximum Ride, but even more amazing and was made for something even bigger."

At first I was shocked, but I knew this was impossible. So tried to stay calm."

And now it was my turn to ask questions. So I began;

"So why did you want me to be here? What is your goal? There are others like me? And why did you exactly want me to read Maximum Ride? I meant as why me in particular?" I asked all at once.

"Oh sweetie. It wouldn't be fun if I told you the answers already. You have to figure that out yourself. Well, perhaps with your friends?" He said with an evil grin on his face.

"Fine. Then who are these friends of mine?" I asked impatiently.

"You have to figure that out yourself as well." he said. Then he smiled at me again.

"You know what?! Why are you even here if you won't even help. Actually, Forget it! This is not even possible. I want to go back so send me back home." I was now shouting

He smiled again, then said

"Sweetie, you and I both know this is not just a stupid dream of yours. You know this is real." he sounded serious.

"Fine. Then let's just say this is real. Okay?! So if this is real, you can at least tell me where to find these '_friends'_ of mine that you were talking about?" I said with a calm tone, but with an annoyed expression.

But for real, inside my heart, I was freaking out. I knew this was impossible, but I also knew that this was real, not just a dream of mine.

The scientist with a white lab coat sighed, and gave me a small grin, then started speaking again.

"If you would really like, I can send few people 3 or 4 times in a month to help you find you're friends. I believe that they will help you to understand your abilities better and help you improve with those abilities. Does that sound good?" he asked.

Then without a second thought, I automatically said "Yes. Thank you." with a serious expression.

"Oh, You wouldn't thank me later." He said with a big grin. His grin made me go suspicious, but I didn't ask why because I didn't care back then. Well at least not till I knew what he actually sent me to help find my friends and help me understand. I hated him after I discovered what he sent me. I hated myself for believing him at this time.

I regretted my choice afterwards.

Then I hesitated for a moment and asked;

"Who are these people you're sending me to help when I wake up?" I asked

"You will know soon enough" He replied.

Then we stopped talking for a minute. I try to breath during this one minute. I try to understand everything and accept everything. But it was hard to believe. Hard to get it in my head.

Then once again, he started speaking again.

"Well. Now do you understand what I'm saying so far?" He asked

I did not reply, but nodded.

"Well. It's good that you understand because it's now time for me to go and for you to wake up." he said.

"Wait. I have more questions." I panicked.

"You should hurry then." he replied calmly, slowly walking away.

"I definitely know you're evil, and you did this to me and this is not something nice and easy, but at least tell me what I am. And how to find rest of the answers." I shouted with a worried look on my face.

"I guess I will. I will tell you much more about why you were chosen and how you became the way you are now. But for now, I'll tell you what you are. You see, Kristina, You are ..."

Then there was a loud big sound of thunder. The thunder sound made my ears so buzz.

I couldn't hear what he said about what I was and am.

Then he smiled at me as he knew I couldn't hear him. Then he disappeared into the darkness with the big dark figures. Then he was gone and I was alone.

I panicked. I was freaking out and confused. I wanted to believe this was just a dream, but I knew this wasn't just a dream.

This was different. It was like a vision.

...

**T**hen I hear someone calling my name. This person was terrified.

I try to open my eyes. It was too bright.

I finally open my eyes. And see my mom and my sister standing there with worried look on their faces.

The room I was currently in was too bright and white.

Then I realized I was in a hospital. A normal life hospital.

Not in my dream.

I was back to mine own world. I was awake.


	5. Chapter 4

I finally open my eyes. And see my mom and my sister standing there with worried look on their faces.

The room I was currently in was too bright and white.

Then I realized I was in a hospital. A normal life hospital.

Not in my dream.

I was back to mine own world.

I was awake.

**Chapter 4**

**W**hen I woke up, I realized it was almost 10pm. It was just the room lights that made the room brighter than ever. I was in a hospital room.

As soon as I realized that I was in a hospital room, without looking back, I ran to the washroom in my room, and I locked the door.

I felt like puking. I felt dizzy. I wasn't feeling well. I didn't feel like myself.

There was something wrong. Something definitely felt wrong.

Then suddenly, without a warning, my back pain began once again.

This time, it was much worse than before I fainted. I felt like screaming. I felt like crying. It was as if something was ripping out of my back. I see a big towel. Then without thinking, I grabbed the big towel and shoved it in my mouth, and started screaming with my eyes closed. Of course, no one could hear me because there was a big towel shoved in my mouth to block my screams.

I heard my mom and sister shouting my name and banging the bathroom door at the same time. But I couldn't concentrate on them. I was too dizzy from sweating and screaming without a sound.

Then when I finally opened my eyes again and stopped screaming. I saw my reflection in a mirror in the room, and I saw something that made me want to close my eyes again.

My eyes widen. I try to breath.

This was impossible. This can't be happening. I panicked.

The scientist was right. The dream was real. Oh my god.

I saw my own reflection in a huge mirror located in the bathroom.

But it wasn't just my reflection in the mirror.

I had something gigantic flying out of my back.

Something white and pale.

Something I wish I didn't see.

Something that changed my life. Forever...

I saw myself in the mirror, but I had wings flying out of my back.

I had wings.

I couldn't believe my own eyes.

That was the day, I became the first impossible experiment that ever existed on earth.

I regretted it.

I stopped screaming. I was too shocked.

I turned around to see if my wings were real or not. I hoped they weren't and that I was just hallucinating, but they were real. I could see them and I could feel them on my back.

I try to stay calm and steady, but it was hard. Hard to think.

I knew I had to keep this wing to myself. That meant, I couldn't tell anyone or anything about it.

First of all, I had to fold my wings. Then I had to get out of this bathroom naturally as if there was and is nothing wrong. I had to make my family stop screaming and worrying.

And as soon as they calm down, I could freak out and start worrying, and think again about what happened in my dream.

So I took a deep breath. First I started folding my wings, which did not fold itself. I tried to just shove them in my back by slamming myself onto one of the bathroom walls. Which also did not work. I was screaming in my head. My anger was screaming in my brain.

Then suddenly, I felt like stopping myself. Then calmly told myself that I wanted my wings to be folded and unseen by others. And somehow, it worked. My wings were invisible. It listened to me.

Then next, I walked out of the bathroom. My mom and sister looked so worried to the point where they looked pale. It was my mom who first started the conversation;

"Oh god. Are you okay, love?" asked my mom.

"Ya. I'm fine mom." I replied with a smile.

Then my sister, Lacie, started talking;

"Okay good. Mom was freaking out. When she got a call from the school saying you fainted. Well, she thought you were going to be like... well, you know like..." She couldn't finish her sentence.

"I thought you were going to be like your dad" My mom finished the sentence for her.

Oh. I probably forgot to mention that my dad passed away when I was like 3 years old, and when my sister was first born. I still feel sad every now and then, but I try to stay strong and support mom. My mom still cries. She cries every year on the day my dad passed away. I always felt bad. I still do. But we all try to move on and forget that my dad ever passed away, because I know he'll always be with us. In our hearts.

There was a silent moment. Then I try to break this awkwardness. So I begin the conversation;

"I'm fine mom." I said.

She didn't look very convinced but she replied;

"That's good. I was really worried." she said with a worried expression on her face.

"Well, you should stop worrying because I'm fine now. I was just dizzy back then" I replied.

"I will stop worrying. But you have to stay in the hospital for another day or two. Just in case" she demanded.

I couldn't refuse. So I replied and said "Okay. Fine mom."

My mom was finally convinced when I told her that I was just fine for like the hundredth time. But my sister didn't look very convinced at all. She looked very suspicious, as if she knew my secret already. But I tried to ignore her suspicion. My sister always understood me and knew me better. Whenever I lied, she knew I was lying, even though my mom didn't notice at all. She was my best friend, so it was harder to convince her than my mom. But I tried.

It was now, 12am.

I was still at the hospital.

My mom and sister were both sleeping in the extra bed located next to mine, in my hospital room.

But I couldn't sleep at all. My eyes were wide open.

When I was finally convinced that my mom and sister were both asleep, I walked to the bathroom in my room.

I turned the lights on, and locked the door; Just in case.

Then once again, I calmly told myself to unfold my wings.

Then there it was. My wings were once again flying out of my back.

I still couldn't believe that I have wings, but I try to believe in this impossible fact.

I wasn't even sure if it could make me fly. Or if I had other super powers that needed to be discovered. All these unanswered questions made me tired. Then I sigh.

Then slowly, I fold my wings back into my back, and once again, it was gone.

I walk out of the bathroom and sit on my bed, and think of what happened in my dream.

The scientist who I did not know of told me that I would be the impossible.

'Well, he did not lie about that for sure' is what I said in my head.

I still remember the promise he made to me. He promised that he would send his people to find my friends and discover what I truly was and could be. I just wasn't sure who he was going to send. I also wasn't sure what he meant by "You won't thank me later", when I thanked him before. I was kind of worried when he said that, but I didn't care.

All I knew was that I just had to hide my wings from everyone. Including my family.

I didn't want them to involve themselves with my truth, because I didn't know if them discovering my truth (my wings) would bring them trouble or danger. But I was sure that discovering my truth wouldn't bring them happiness. I just wanted to keep everyone safe.

Then my head started hurting. I felt dizzy. I needed some fresh air.

I decided to walk to the playground outside the hospital. I was sure no one could notice.

I got out of bed, then got dressed, then left my room.

I rode the elevator to the first floor of the hospital, the lobby. I walked out of the hospital through the main entrance. Then I walked through the parking lot and entered the playground.

No one was around.

I was alone.

Then I looked up to the sky and took a deep breath. It got my mind off everything. I felt like a normal person again.

Then I heard footsteps.

I turn around as fast as I can.

I see a man. A big tall man walking towards me.

At first, I was going to run back to the hospital, but something about this man made me stay.

He looked familiar.

Then I knew. He was one of the big tall figures that I saw in my dream. But now, I could see his face. He looked normal, but something about him made me think that he wasn't normal.

Suddenly, he gave me a big growl. Then I saw him change. Change into a big werewolf. That was when I realized that I knew what he was. His physical feature looked similar to what I had read in books. From Maximum Ride. At first, they all were and looked normal, but when they became experiments to many scientists, they became half werewolves half humans.

Erasers.

They had power and strength of a giant and speed of cheetah. They were inhuman.

This was impossible. I always believed that this could only happen in fictional books, but it was happening. It was happening to me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything.

My eyes widen. I try to run. I try to escape, but I just couldn't. Instead, I just stand and stare.

When he was finally done turning into an Eraser, he walked forward. I just stood there, without stepping back. Then he started talking;

"I am experiment number 5247. I came here to tell you a message that my master told me to send to you." He said, sounding like a machine.

I just stood there and gave him a confused look. I was truly confused. I mean this wasn't even possible. Then he spoke again;

"My master's message was 'As I promised you, I have sent one of my people to teach you about yourself and to discover what you truly are and can do' and I am that person. I am here to help you discover yourself and to help you discover what you truly can do." he said.

Then without hesitating, he started running towards me, and I realized he wasn't going to stop. He was going to run me over. So I jumped out of the way and fell on the hard ground of the playground. It hurt. I felt like dying. This pain felt too real. It hurt me too much.

With very little power left inside me, I try to get up.

I got up as soon as I could and tried to find him, to see where he was.

I couldn't see him anywhere.

I was panting hard. I was breathing hard. I try to stay quiet and listen to where he was.

But before I could even try to listen, he ran over me.

He hit me hard enough to make me fly across the playground. I fell. It hurt me so much.

He turned around to see me. Then with that one look of his, I realized he was going to do it again. But this time, he was going to end me. He slowly opened his hand and stared at his palm, then fingers, his finger tips, then his finger nails. Suddenly, I saw something growing out of his fingers. His nails were growing longer and bigger. Then they became claws. As soon as he was finished growing his claws. He ran towards me as fast as he could. I was still lying there.

I knew I had to get up and fight him. Fight him back. I had to win. I had to go back to my room. To my mom and my sister. I can't die today. I had to go back. I wanted to go back.

With that desperate thought inside my mind. I got up.

If he was going to use his power, then so was I.

Inside my mind, I told myself to unfold my wings.

My wings stretched out. Then I demanded myself to fly. Fly high, so that the Eraser couldn't see me above. Then I was flying. I was flying in the air. And I dodged him.

Then I looked down to see where he was at now. He was standing in the middle of the playground. Looking around. Looking for me. I knew what to do next.

I decided to drop from the air and kick his head, and make him faint. So I folded my wings, then dropped, and then kicked. He fainted automatically. I was proud and surprised with my own power.

I saw him lying down on the ground.

I check his pulse. He was still breathing.

I decided to leave him there fainted. I knew he would wake up soon. When he wakes up, I knew he would leave without a sound or comeback for me again, and I would be gone by then.

I look down on him once more then grinned.

Then suddenly, I heard a footstep, and big gasp.

I turned around without hesitating to see who it was.

My wings were still flying out of my back.

She walked closer. She had a familiar face. Very familiar. Then she stood right in front of me.

My eyes widen.

It was my sister. Lacie. Standing right in front of me. She had a shocked expression on her face.

And I knew she was watching me the whole time.

And now she knew my secret.

**N**ow she discovered my secret.


	6. Chapter 5

Then suddenly, I heard a footstep, and big gasp.

I turned around without hesitating to see who it was.

My wings were still flying out of my back.

She walked closer. She had a familiar face. Very familiar. Then she stood right in front of me.

My eyes widen.

It was my sister. Lacie. Standing right in front of me. She had a shocked expression on her face.

And I knew she was watching me the whole time.

And now she knew my secret.

Now she discovered my secret.

**Chapter 5**

**I** just stood there. Stunned. Surprised.

I somehow already knew Lacie was watching the whole thing. She had watched what happened between me and the Eraser. She knew I had and have wings. She discovered what I was trying to hide from her.

Lacie took another step closer to me, and I took a step back.

"Kristina? Is that you?" my sister immediately asked.

Then as soon as she finished asking the question. I immediately turned around. I was too scared and surprised to answer her. The she spoke again;

"It is you isn't it? I knew there was something wrong with you as soon as you woke up at the hospital. I knew you were hiding something, but this is **impossible**." My sister said. She was starting to freak out. I knew I had to calm her down.

"Lacie. I can explain. Just try to calm down." I said. But I needed to calm myself first. I was freaking out as well.

"What can you explain? I mean, I saw everything with my own eyes, from the very beginning. I knew you were hiding something so I followed you, then that fainted guys currently lying on the floor was talking about a promise, then the next I saw was you flying in the air with those big wings on your back and fighting that guy. What can you explain? I already know everything." She replied in rush. Then she took a big breath.

"So you do know what happened and what I am. But you still don't know everything. I'll try to explain everything to you. Just don't think of me as a freak, and don't tell mom. Okay? Please?" I asked with a worried and sincere expression on my face. I was too worried and truly sincere. And I knew my sister was definitely confused and shocked.

I knew it was too late to tell her a lie. She already knew too much and saw too much. I had to tell her or she would try to discover everything by herself, and watch me every moment of my life from now on. So I decided to tell her from the very beginning. First, I folded my wings back into my back. Then walked towards the hospital parking lot away from the Eraser, and found a bench to sit on. I sat on the bench, and told my sister to sit beside me, then I began my story, from the very beginning, with every single detail.

By the time I finished my story, it was around 3am.

I was too tired from the fight and from telling my sister my whole story. I felt exhausted and I was sure I looked exhausted as well.

When I was finished telling my story to my sister, she looked shocked. And without asking, I knew what she was thinking inside her head. She was probably thinking that this was impossible and could not happen, but at the same time, she probably knew it happened for real because she saw me flying and fighting an Eraser. It was hard to believe, but she knew she had to accept the truth that she saw.

We just sat there for a moment. I was doing nothing, but my sister was looking down at the ground and was thinking hard. Trying to fit all the impossible facts into her head. I could tell that she was trying to accept the fact that her only older sister, which was me, was a flying hybrid with 1 percent of bird genes in her blood and there were more people who were like her, and she still didn't know what she was or have to do for the future, except for finding people who were like her.

I totally understood her. I mean if Lacie was the one with freaky flying wings, I would react the same way, but the honest fact is that I am the one with freaky flying wings, not her. But I'm sure she would understand.

She finally lifted her head up. She took a deep breath and started the conversation;

"This is soooo awesome!" She said, enthusiastically with a big smile on her face.

"I know it's confu... What?" I replied with a shock.

"Like I said. You're awesome." She replied, once again.

"I am? You don't think I'm a freak? I might not even be your biological sister." I replied with a serious tone.

"I mean you are awesome. You have wings that can make you fly. Just like Maximum Ride. I think I know what you need to do next. You have to do exactly what Maximum did. And no, I don't think you're a freak! You're my only sister. How could I even think that?! And I'm 100 percent sure we're biologically related, because we look like twins. Admit it. We look exactly the same." She answered. And she sounded very confident with her answer.

So I said;

" First of all, you are right about the fact that we look exactly the same and I'm also sure that we are biologically related. Second of all, I feel very relieved to hear that you still think of me the same way as you did before, your sister. But I don't think that I should and need to do what Maximum exactly did like you said, because as I said before, I don't have all the members of my flock, and because the scientist in my dream told me that his goal of me was much bigger and different from the goal in Maximum Ride. But I will definitely first look for my flock members and I definitely plan to find that damn scientists and find some answers, and also ask him why he sent me his _experiments_ to _help_ me." I said confidently.

Then my sister smiled and spoke;

"And I will definitely support you any way I can. Like I always have!" She smiled again.

And I smiled back at her. Then spoke;

"But you absolutely cannot tell mom about this. I already got you involved and I'm not even sure if telling you was a good idea or not. I might have already gotten you in danger just by telling you about me. You might get attacked by one of those Erasers, because of me. I didn't want that, but before I knew it, you already discovered the truth. I don't want to put both _you_ and _mom_ in that kind of danger, so don't tell anyone. Okay?" I said with a serious tone. And I knew she understood me and took my words seriously.

"Okay. I promise." She replied with a calm voice.

Then we both went back to the hospital into our room. We gave each other a smile then went into our room. Mom was still asleep, so we slowly moved to our beds and laid down then slept.

I kind of felt relieved that I told someone about my secret. It was hard to go through this alone, not until I find my flock. I'm sure my sister would not tell anyone and keep this to herself. I was sure that she would understand me. I felt very relieved. I was glad that I told my sister.

I was glad until the morning came.

I was the first one who woke up. It was a bit chilly. Probably because one of the windows in my room was wide open. I wondered who opened it.

I looked around the room to see if anything has changed perhaps. I looked around and felt something missing. I looked around again.

The window in my room was still wide open, as if someone came in and out.

My mom was still sleeping on the bed next to mine, but she was sleeping alone. The bed my mom and sister was sharing since last night was half empty.

My sister was missing.

Lacie has disappeared.

**S**he was gone.


	7. Chapter 6

The window in my room was still wide open, as if someone came in and out.

My mom was still sleeping on the bed next to mine, but she was sleeping alone. The bed my mom and sister was sharing since last night was half empty.

My sister was missing.

Lacie has disappeared.

She was gone.

**Chapter 6**

**I** run towards the bathroom located in my hospital room. I rush and push the door wide open.

She wasn't there. Then I ran around the hospital floor I was on. Looked at every single room on the floor, but she wasn't in any of them. I searched the whole hospital to look for her. She wasn't here. She wasn't anywhere.

I run back to my room with no hope. My mom was now awake. Then she spoke;

"Where have you been? And where is Lacie? I thought you weren't feeling well again so I thought you were in the bathroom, but you weren't, and I was worried sick." She said with a worried expression on her face.

"Lacie is gone." I said. Forgetting about everything else she said and asked me.

"What do you mean she's gone? Weren't you with her?" She asked

"I meant as she's literally gone. She's not in the bathroom, not in any other rooms, she's not in the hospital." I replied. I sounded as if I was crying.

"She must be in the hospital somewhere. There's nowhere else she could have went. She doesn't even have a key to open our house, so she couldn't have possibly went there. Maybe, she went to the hospital parking lot to take some air. Or maybe the playground." My mom said with a worried and confused tone. Then she kept on going. Talking about other possibilities. But I wasn't paying any attention.

All I thought about was the playground. The playground where I talked with the Eraser, and fought him. The playground where Lacie discovered my secret. The playground where I told her about my secret and that my secret might bring her danger.

The danger has come, and I knew who took her. Who kidnapped her. Without any thinking, I knew it was the Eraser who I knocked down yesterday. He took my sister from me. And I knew I had to get her back. I needed my Lacie back.

When I finally focused my attention to my mom again, she was calling my name. Trying to get my attention;

"Kristina? Sweetie? Can you hear me?" She asked. I could tell that she was worried.

"Ah, sorry. I just... My mind went blank for a second there. Sorry. What were you saying?" I asked.

"I was saying that she couldn't have went anywhere else other than the hospital. I'm sure she's in the hospital somewhere." She said.

"Mom! I looked around the whole hospital. Every single room. She's not here. I know for sure." I demanded calmly.

"Then where is she?" She asked with no hopes in her voice.

"I don't know..." I replied. But in my mind, I knew exactly where to find here and when to find her, but I couldn't tell my mom that. I couldn't tell her about my secret and get her into this danger as well. I just couldn't.

Then my mom spoke again;

"I have to report this to the police. I have to report that my daughter is missing and they absolutely have to find her." She demanded.

I wanted to stop her. I wanted to tell her that it was going to be useless. But telling her that would involve me telling her the truth. So instead I nodded and said;

"Ya. We should."

The police came to the hospital in about an hour after we asked for them. They asked me and my mom many questions, but I was sure that our answers would be useless.

I knew only I could find her and bring her back. And I was going to bring her back whatever the cost was.

The police left about an hour or two after they came. They looked hopeless as well, but they would try to find her. That was their job after her.

It was now 4pm.

My mom and I went to a restaurant located on the first floor of the hospital. Then we ate our early dinner there. We said nothing to each other while we ate. My mom's eyes were still red from crying, and she looked hopeless and worried. But inside my mind, I was determined that I was going to bring Lacie back. I knew it wouldn't be easy to get her back, but I had to get her back no matter what. I was her sister after all.

After dinner, we went back to my room. We both set on our beds. My mom laid down on her bed then started crying. I couldn't bear to the sound of her crying voice, so I left the room for some fresh air and a walk.

When I came back, it was 8pm. My mom was now sleeping on her bed, and I could guess that she fell asleep from crying. I put a blanket over her to keep her warm. Then I laid on my bed and went to sleep.

When I woke up again, it was 11:45pm. And I knew, it was time for me to go. To go find my sister. I got up without making any noise, then got dressed, and then left for the playground. I walked through the hospital parking lot, then reached the playground.

No one was around. No cameras to watch my every move.

Then when the hospital bells rang to inform the city that it was 12am, I saw a big guy walking towards me. Towards the playground. Without a second thought, I knew he was the Eraser. And I noticed that he was carrying something with him. Something of size of a human being. And without a second thought, I knew that he was carrying my sister.

When he finally reached the playground, he threw my sister on the ground, right in front of me. I ran to her. I could hardly recognize her. She had a weak pulse. She was covered with bruises and blood, but I knew it was my sister for sure.

Then she called my name;

"Kristina? Is that you? You came for me. You should have never come. That Eraser. He's too strong and fast. You can't beat him. You have to escape." She said weakly.

"Ya. Lacie. It's me. I came for you. Why wouldn't I. I'll always come for you wherever you are. You're my best friend and only sister. I can't just leave you behind." I said with tears dangling from my eyes.

Then she gave me a small laugh and a smile, and said;

"You sound really cheesy when you say that. You've never said something this cheesy in your life. It's kinda creepy." She said.

Then I give her a small laugh as well.

"Ha. You're right. I guess I'm not very good with words. But I'm your sister. So I guess you have to live with this for the rest of your life." I smile with tears in my eyes.

Then I lift her and move her to a bench located in the playground.

I was surprised with myself. I was never this strong. I never could have lifted my younger sister who was taller than me before, but now I could. And I knew this strength came from the _change_ or _maturing_ that the scientist in my dream talked about.

Then I tell her; "Wait here just for few minutes. I'll be right back" I said with a faint smile.

She did not reply, but nodded.

Now I turned back to the Eraser, who did this to my sister.

"Why did you do this? Was this the _teaching_ process that the scientist in my dream was talking about? Hurting the people around me in order to make me stronger and expose my true strength? If this was the teaching that he was talking then tell him that I don't want it, and that I would kill him when I find him." I shouted at the Eraser.

The Eraser just stood there for a moment, then started speaking.

"My master said that you would regret your choice of making that promise with him. But he also said he won't break his promise. Not until he got what he wanted." He said, robotically.

"What is it that he wants from me?" I yelled.

"He said you will discover what he wants when you find him with your flock members."He replied.

"What if I refuse to find my flock and refuse everything that he wants me to do?" I asked.

"Then _that_ will happen to _**everyone**_ around you" he said. Pointing at my sister.

Now I was definitely worried and scared.

"Is he going to send you and others like you again to help me find my flock?" I asked with my cracking voice.

"Yes." He robotically replied.

"What if I choose to find them on my own?" I asked

"My master said that you won't be able to reveal who they are unless he sends his men." He replied.

"Then I have another questions. Did this happen to my sister because I told her the truth? About my secret?" I asked with a terrified expression on my face.

"Yes" he replied to my question.

Now I was angry and regretting. Then I started to spread my wings open. I tightly grip my fist. I knew my own strength now, and why he wanted me to reveal my true strength. I was the impossible. I had strengths and power that no one else ever had or could. Then I asked him my last question;

"Then One Last question. Did you do this to my sister? Did you do this yourself?" I asked calmly.

But I already knew the answer to my question. The answer was obviously, Yes.

But before he could answer me, I ran towards him then flew up, then dropped, and then kicked him as hard as I could and punched him as many times as I could.

Then he fell on the ground.

And I knew he was gone.

He was dead.

And **I** killed him.


	8. Chapter 7

"Then One Last question. Did you do this to my sister? Did you do this yourself?" I asked calmly.

But I already knew the answer to my question. The answer was obviously, Yes.

But before he could answer me, I ran towards him then flew up, then dropped, and then kicked him as hard as I could and punched him as many times as I could.

Then he fell on the ground.

And I knew he was gone.

He was dead.

And **I** killed him.

**Chapter 7**

**H**e was dead. **H**e wasn't moving. I pant hard. I breath hard.

I was too angry to hear him answer my question. I was angry. _I lost control._

And before I realized, **I** killed him.** I** ended his life. **I** ended a person's life today.

I was scared. My hands were trembling, and I couldn't stop.

Then I turned my face to face my sister, Lacie. She was still lying on the bench, helpless, but her face was facing my way. My direction. But she was looking at the Eraser, not me. Her eyes wide open. Too wide from the shock. I could see that she was almost as shocked as me. And I knew she watched what I did. What I did to the Eraser.

Then she slowly turned her head towards me. Now she was facing me. Looking at me. She gave me a worried and scared expression, and I did the same. I couldn't stop trembling. I was scared. And I wondered to myself; 'What have I done.'

Then my sister started talking with barely any energy left in her voice;

"Kristina... Can you come here please?" She asked, sincerely.

Without giving her an answer, I ran to her, with my wings still wide spread. Then I sat beside her.

Then without a warning, she gave me a hug, and she didn't let go. That was when I reached my limit. That was when I started crying. Crying like a baby. I hugged her back, tight, and I didn't let go. I didn't want to. I was so scared and lonely. I couldn't survive this alone. My sister understood this unsure, scared, fearful, and lonely feeling of mine. And she began to cry as well. She wasn't crying out of pain. She was crying for me. And we just sat there crying for 10 minutes. Trying to bare everything. Trying to put everything together. Trying to endure.

Then the sun began to come up.

Then my sister suddenly fainted. I was shocked. Then I saw how much blood she had lost. She had to be treated immediately. It was still dark enough to fly and not get seen by others.

I immediately stood up. Wiped my tears from my eyes. Then lifted my sister with my arms, then flew up and then flew towards the hospital. I was fast. I got there in 2 seconds. I reached the ground. No one saw me fly. Then I folded my wings back in, and ran into the hospital with my sister in my arms, and called for help.

My sister was immediately sent to an emergency room.

I asked the nurses to call my mom down to the main floor. A minute later, I saw my mom running out of an elevator. She did not look good. She looked terrified. She ran towards me the shouted;

"What Happened?" she asked without caring that we were in a hospital.

That was when I decided to make up a story. A story that didn't involve me flying and killing an Eraser.

"Okay come with me mom. We need to be somewhere quiet." I said. Then dragged her back to my room and started talking;

Then I began to tell her a fake story. I told her that Lacie was kidnapped by a strange guy;

"Try to stay calm and listen. Okay, Mom? This will sound impossible, but Lacie was actually kidnapped. She was kidnapped the morning we started looking for her. And I actually got a call last night from the kidnapper saying that he had her, and if I wanted her back, I would have to come to the playground across the hospital at midnight, alone. So I did. Then I saw him waiting for me at the playground. Lacie was almost dead when I got there. I quickly rushed to Lacie, then took out my phone and took a quick picture of the kidnapper and posted on a website. But I wasn't quick enough for him to not notice. As soon as he discovered I took a picture of him, he ran towards me and took my phone. Then he tried to get into my phone, but unfortunately, my phone needed a pass code in order to get into it. Then he started to have this weird reaction. He started freaking out. I took a step away from him, with Lacie in my arms. And before I knew it, he took out a gun and shot himself. I was terrified, but I knew I had get Lacie to the hospital. I knew it was too late to save him, but I knew I could save Lacie. So I left the kidnapper at the playground and ran to the hospital. I just left him there. Dead." I told mom with a serious tone. This story was actually part true. I did leave him there. Dead.

My mom looked stunned and shocked. Then my mom replied;

"You're right. This is hard to believe, but I believe you. You're my daughter after all. First of all, I have to report this to the police. And second of all, if the dead kidnapper still at the playground right now?" she asked.

"Yes, I think so." I replied.

"Then I have to report this to the police immediately to move his disgusting body away from children's playground." My mom said, sounding very angry.

Soon the police arrived. They asked me and my mom many questions, but I lied to all of them. They still believed me. They demanded that they ask one or two questions to Lacie when she recovered. They said they would come back after 2 weeks for Lacie. So I knew I had to tell Lacie what to tell the police before they got to her.

I was at the hospital for about 2 or 3 weeks to help Lacie recover and to take care of herself, since our mom had to go to work. I already missed about a month of school, and I kind of wanted to go back now.

The police came back after 2 weeks to ask Lacie some questions, but she lied to all of them as well. For me.

Soon, Lacie recovered.

Today was her last day at the hospital. We were packing our clothes and other stuff in our bags to return them back to our house.

And while we were packing, I started talking;

"Lacie, I'm really sorry about what happened to you. I know you were badly hurt, and almost died. I should have never told you the truth. I'm really sorry. Now, I really regret the fact that I ever told you the truth." I told her then sighed. I was truly sorry. I did not know how to tell her about my feelings. How sorry I was.

"Kristina. First of all, you sound really cheesy so don't apologize like that. And second of all, it was me who discovered the truth that you were trying to hide from me, in order to protect me. So if you have anyone to blame, then you should blame me." She said with a small grin.

Then I grinned back at her.

"You know?! I'm really trying to apologize here and you're keep ruining it! you know what? Forget it! I won't apologize!" I said with an attitude.

Then we both started laughing. And I started talking again;

"Everything seems so different now. Doesn't it? Everything's going to be different from now." I said with a worried expression and tone.

"Everything's still the same as ever, the world is the same. It's just you who's different." She said.

"I guess you're right. I just see everything different now. I mean, anyone in this room might be an Eraser." I replied with a suspicious voice. Then suspiciously looked around the room.

Then we started laughing again, and this time, we didn't stop.

That afternoon, we came back to our home. It felt like a such long time since I've been here. Then I immediately went to bed. I was too tired from everything.

And when I finally woke up, it was the morning of the next day.

I knew I had to go to school today. I needed to. I needed to go find my flock. I wasn't sure if all 6 members of my flock, including me, was in my school, but I knew at least one of them was.

Without any clue, I just knew at least one them was in there.

Waiting for me to find them.

Waiting for me to discover them.

**They were waiting for me.**

Then I picked up my beg, got dressed, then ran towards the school.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**W**hen I finally reached my school and entered the main entrance. Everyone I knew stared at me as if I was a new student. But I had to admit, if this happened to someone I knew, then I would have reacted the same way to them, but since it was me who was in this situation, I tried to walk away. Then I went to my locker. When I got to my locker, Clary and Lily came up to me and started talking;

"Hey. Are you okay?" Lily first asked, with a worried expression.

"Umm.. Ya. I'm fine." I replied, and gave her a small grin.

"Com'n Lily! She fainted at school about a month ago and never came back for a whole month. You know better than anyone that she's not okay." said Clary, who sounded very serious and realistic.

What Clary said was right. I just fainted at school and didn't come back to the school for a month. They probably thought I was dead or something. But I couldn't tell them what really happened, so I just told them about the story where Laice was kidnapped after I recovered from my head injury., and how that was the reason why I was absent for about a month.

They looked at me as if I were lying to them. I saw that the kidnapping story was impossible for them to believe. Then I imagined telling them my real story, the story about my dream and my wings, and thought how they would think I was a freak and how impossible that would have been for them to believe. It was a good thing that I never told them anything.

I knew that they were trying to believe me and accept the truth. A lying truth from their liar friend. But I knew, lying to them was what was best for them. And we dropped the topic about why I was gone, then walked to our homeroom.

Before I knew it, I was in English with again.

Everyone was sitting where they set a month ago. Then started talking;

"Everyone excited for the dance party that's soon coming? The semi-formal?!" She asked enthusiastically.

Then everyone in the classroom yelled; "YESS!"

And soon, I realized the semi-formal was coming, in 5 days, and this year's semi-theme was 'A Partner'. What the theme meant was very simple. All we had to do was bring a partner to the formal and enjoy the party. But we all knew that we hated finding a partner for ourselves. I personally hated this, but all of my friends decided to go, so I decided to go as well to have some fun. But I regretted going to the party. I wished that I never went.

For the next 4 day, I completely forgot about the fact that I had wings, and shopped 24/7 for our semi-formal. It was fun hanging out with my friends again. It was fun being normal again.

And before I realized, the day of semi-formal came.

It was currently 8pm. I still didn't have a partner, but everyone else did. I felt left out, but I was gone for a whole month and didn't get a chance to even pick someone, so I didn't get much of a choice.

Lily and Clary soon came to pick me up, and they brought their partners as well. Then we left my house for the semi-formal.

When we got there, the dance had already begun. It was loud and fun. I danced with my friends for a long time, until the slow dance song began to play. While they danced with their partners, I decided to just go take some rest and some air at the bench outside the school.

I was happily on my way to the bench until I saw Jace.

He was with someone, and I automatically assumed that it was his partner that he brought. I jumped back into the corner where I was standing before I reached the hallway. I was now watching them. I knew it was a bad idea, but I did it.

They were talking in the hallway which would lead me to outside.

When I finally decided to just interrupt them and go through the hallway, Jace's partner started hugging him really close and tight. And without a doubt, I assumed what they would do next.

It hurts. My heart hurts. It hurts a lot.

This pain made me realize that I still really liked Jace. And when I told him that I was now moving on, it was a lie. I still wanted him. I still needed him.

But I could see that he already moved on. And before I knew it, he forgot me.

I knew that I first had to get away from this hallway, and from this truth. I needed to escape.

Then without any hesitation, I ran through the hallway. As I was running, I saw Jace's face and he saw mine as well. Then he began calling my name and started talking, but I never heard what he said, because by then, I already exited the hallway and the school, and was running towards the bench in front of the school. Then I sent down. I was hurt. I was tired. But I wasn't hurt and tired from running. I was hurt and tired from running away from Jace.

Now, I was all alone outside the school. I could see moving students inside the school through the windows, but they couldn't see me because of the darkness of the night. It was really dark.

I set on the bench for about 10 minutes, then I saw medium size truck arrive in front of the school.

A man came out of the truck, and the man started walking towards me.

I immediately stood up, then waited for my moment to start running away from him, back into the school.

But I didn't run away. I could have and I had the chance, but I did not. The reason was because of his presence. Without a single clue or a question asked to him, I knew he was an Eraser. And I knew he came to _teach_ me, once again.

He walked closer to me, but I didn't even move a step backwards. I stood there, ready. Then he began;

"I see that you recognize what I am, who I am. I came here to _help_ you. Just like my **master** promised you." he said.

"Ya. I have recognized who you were. It wasn't that hard to guess, you're really big and tall after all." I replied with a little bit of humour in my voice.

"I see that you have a sense of humour." he said with rude voice.

"And I see that you can sense feelings and things, unlike the other guy that your **master** sent me last time." I said with a big of anger in my voice, remembering how the other Eraser beat my sister up.

"Well. He's dead now and I'm his replacement. So you should get used to me." he said.

"Why should I? You'll be dead by tomorrow anyways." I said with a serious tone.

Then I unfolded my wings and tightened my fists, and was getting ready.

And I saw him tightening his fists as well, but he was growing his claws. He was getting ready as well. To fight. To _teach_me.

Then the Eraser started speaking again;

"Now now. There is no need to get worked up for anything yet." he said.

"Look who's talking." I replied, and he knew I was referring to his claws.

"I just put them out for self defence, just in case you start attacking me without a notice." he said with an amused expression.

"Let's just get this over with; Can't we?" I asked with an annoyed expression.

I didn't want to drag this for a long time. Sooner or later, someone will eventually notice that I'm missing and start looking for me, but I didn't want that to happen.

"Let's just be patient. My master told me to send his message to you. He said that you will find one of your flock members today, and I am here to assist you and your friend with discovering and finding your true powers." He said, but now he sounded like a robot.

"So one of my flock member is here today? At the dance? And how far does this member know about his or her power?" I asked curiously and anxiously.

"Yes, one of your flock member is here today at your stupid little dance party. And he knows that he have wings, but that's all that he knows. Well, until today. Ah. He's finally here to join us." he said with a joy in voice.

As soon as the Eraser said that my flock member was here, I immediately turned around.

And saw someone unexpected. Someone who I always wished to be a member of my flock, but also who I always wished to not be involved in this. Someone I didn't want to hurt. Someone I couldn't forget. Jace.

Jace was standing right behind me. He was just standing there. Staring at my wings and the Eraser's claws. By hearing how hard he was panting, I could tell that he was running. He was breathing hard, but I could tell he was not surprised to see my wings, but he was surprised to see the Eraser's claws. Then without looking at Jace's face, I immediately turned to the Eraser.

"He's one of them? My flock member? Jace is?" I asked with a shock. My mind went blank. My mind went dark. I was filled with fear and sorrow.

"Yes, he is. Jace Woods is the second member of your flock." He said with a robotic voice.

"Why? He can't be in this. He can't be involved in this. He can't be my next flcok member." I replied with a shock in my voice. I was too surprised and scared. Before, I wished he could be my flock member, but I knew that it would put him in danger, so I didn't want him to be. But before I knew it, he was already one.

"I don't know why, but my master told me to tell you this when you discover him. He said that you will be shocked, glad and scared that Jace is one of your flock member, and that you will regret choosing him." He said with no expression.

"What did you mean by I'll be glad? I'm definitely not glad to discover that Jace is one of my flock members. And also, what did you mean when you said _**I**_ chose him?" I asked with worry, scared, and curious expression and tone.

"I will not answer to your questions. You should ask my master if you so desire." He said calmly.

"Then bring your damn master here. To me." I demanded.

"He does not have time for someone like you. And neither do I. Since everyone my master wished for me to bring together is here, shall we begin and get this over with just like you requested." He said.

Then without any hesitation, he ran towards me with his claws pointing directly at me. And I jumped up to dodge him, but as I was jumping up, I saw his expression, he smirked at me.

I soon realized he wasn't aiming for me.

He was aiming for Jace who was standing right behind me. Jace was still where he was before I jumped up. But his eyes were focused on me, to my wings, and he could not see the Eraser who was running towards him. But I realized what the Eraser was aiming for, Aiming for Jace.

Then I yelled with all my power; "No!"

As soon as Jace heard me yell, he immediately turned around to face the Eraser. The Eraser was a foot away from him with his long sharp claws ready to strike him.

Then without thinking, I closed my eyes and turned away. I didn't want to see this. I was too scared and terrified to look at what was happening. Then I heard Jace yelp and gasp in pain, and I knew I had to open my eyes. I had to help him.

When I finally opened my eyes, Jace was lying on the ground, helpless. Then I saw blood pouring out from his left shoulder. And I knew he was dying, but I knew he was going to survive if I treated him immediately. So I immediately dropped down to the ground, folded my wings back into my back, then ran towards him. But before I could reach Jace, I was punched in the back, hard, by the Eraser. His punch threw me across from where Jace was lying. I yelp in pain.

And I wondered if I was faster and stronger, could have I protected Jace? Could have I made a difference? Could have I protected my sister and my loved ones?

But the truth and the reality was clear that I wasn't.

Now I was trying to get up. It hurt, but I had to get up.

When I finally got up with all the strength that was left in me, the Eraser was relaxingly waiting for me and Jace to get up and attack him. I could see that Jace was trying to get up, but was losing too much blood. I had to protect him. It was my only chance to save him. I wasn't going to make the same mistake again by hurting my loved ones because of my weakness. Then the Eraser started talking;

"You both are really weak. At least the girl knows what she can do with her power, healing. But the guy doesn't. Hmm... What should I do with both of you?" He said with a bit of amusement.

I hated him. I wanted to kill him. But he was right. We both were really weak and Jace barely knew about his power. It was all up to me to buy time and end him. I had to focus. I needed to.

But First, I focused my attention to Jace, who was still trying to get up, but was dying by trying.

"Jace. Just lie down there for a sec. Don't move. You don't have to help. I got this under control. We'll talk later, but try to stay alive. Okay? I need you to stay alive, and this is an order. Okay?" I said, asked and yelled sincerely with very last energy left in me, trying to make sure he heard me.

Next, I focused on the Eraser, who was standing right between me and Jace. I walked a step closer and spat at his foot. The spit was my blood not my spit. Then I spoke;

"By the way, you're the weak one. I was just warming up." I said trying to sound confident.

"I'm sure you were, little girl. Then shall we go back to action instead of more talking." he said relaxingly. Then he looked at me, then back at Jace who was trying to pull himself together to help me as soon as he could.

"But wait. I'll be your only opponent today. Jace barely knows anything about us and that seems hardly fair. So just you and me tonight. No one else getting hurt or more involved." I said, looking back and forth at Jace and the Eraser.

"Oh. I see. You're trying to protect him, aren't you? Because you remember what happened to your sister last time. Well I can't accept your request. You see, my master told me that your loved ones, such as Jace, would be the key to your true power. So no, I have to make sure I involve him in this, but I'll make this quick for him" He said with a little bit of pity in his voice, and he grinned a bit as well. Then slowly, the Eraser took out a gun. He immediately pointed it towards Jace. My eyes widen.

I was confident that the Eraser wasn't going to hesitate with killing Jace.

Jace was still lying there. He couldn't move and his injury was getting, and he was losing too much blood. But his head, face, and eyes were looking towards me. His eyes told me to escape and save myself, but he and I both knew I wouldn't. I couldn't. His eyes were also trying to tell me something, but I didn't know what it was.

Then a flash of memory came back to me, I tried to remember the days that we spent together in elementary school. How we always argued about everything, but laughed about everything. How he was always there to make me feel better and happier. How I used to like him. How I used to think that he was the _one_ for me. And how I always wanted to turn time and repeat everything.

But before I knew it, I was already back in reality. I was broken. Jace was broken.

Now I saw the reality, and how easily a person could be killed. I needed to protect him. This was my second chance. I didn't want to lose him again.

The Eraser started pressing the trigger. And I ran towards Jace. All I could think about was saving Jace. This time I might be able to get to him. I might actually reach him.

But I knew I was going too slow. So I used all the energy left in me, every bits of energy left in me, and ran as fast as possible. I ran.

Then I heard a gunshot.

The Eraser already pulled the trigger. He was shocked at first, but then he smirked.

I couldn't keep my eyes open to see who got shot.

But I knew it was either me or Jace.

Then I slowly fell on my knees.

I saw Jace's face and his eyes, and he looked rather scared, shocked, and terrified. And I knew he was scared, shocked, and terrified.

But I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't hear anything.

Then slowly, I heard Jace calling my name out loud. And slowly, I felt something in my stomach.

I felt pain.

Then I looked down to my stomach and saw blood pouring out of it. It was my blood.

Soon, I realized I was standing then kneeling in front of Jace.

And soon realized I was the one who got shot, and was the one dying.

Jace could now get up. I could feel and see that he has healed a bit. He was now holding me tight. He was telling me something, but I couldn't hear him.

Then I smiled at him.

I knew I was dying, but at least I could protect one person that I cared about.

I protected someone today, and it felt good.

Then without a sound or expression, I fell into Jace's arms.

Then closed my eyes into darkness and felt _nothing._


	10. Chapter 9

I felt myself fall into Jace's arms.

I felt myself dying.

I felt myself falling into an abyss of sleep.

Then I was gone.

**Chapter 9**

**I **felt myself dying then I fell into Jace's arms. I was sure that Jace caught me, but I wasn't 100 percent sure.

I didn't know what was going to happen, but I was sure it wasn't going to an happy ending.

Then once again, I fell into an endless dark of abyss of sleep.

**-Jace- (From Now, The Story Will Be In Jace's Perspective. This Means that Jace will be "I" in the story. Jace is the _Narator_/**_**first person**_** in the story).**

She was running towards in front of me as I was trying to get up, and as the big monster tried to shoot me.

Then I heard a gunshot and so did she. But I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel any pain.

Then the next thing I found myself doing was catching her falling into my arms.

She fell into my arms. Kristina fell into my arms.

I called her name. I shook.

Her eyes were opened, but soon, they were closed.

And she soon stopped breathing.

She was gone.

I didn't scream, yell, or cry. I just sat there holding her in my arms. At that moment, I felt nothing. I didn't want to feel anything.

Then without noticing, I slowly unfolded my wings just like Kristina did before, and tightened my fist. I slowly got up carrying Kristina in my arms and laid her down on the ground, gently.

Then I focused my attention to the big monster who shot Kristina.

I couldn't see anything, but I saw the monster and nothing else. The monster was also facing my way, and the monster started talking;

"Just like my **master** expected. She would do anything to prevent from someone else getting hurt. You know, she really liked you. But it's a pity that you couldn't protect her and she died. You do realize how weak you are, don't you? Well, I'll leave for today. I have to report my master that Kristina's speed and strength improved when her loved ones were put in danger because of her." He said relaxingly, but he had a pity expression on his face.

Then I thought about what he said about Kristina really liking me. The truth was that I really liked her as well, and I still really liked her, but I thought she already moved on. So I tried to move on as well, but that didn't turn out so well.

Before we graduated, I was planning to ask her out, but for some reason, I knew it wasn't the right time and soon I realized that, I had lost her. So I gave up. But I always knew I would be given a second chance with her, and before I knew, she was dead, and because of that monster and because of my weakness.

I saw the monster turning around and was about to leave. Then I started talking;

"Stay right there. I'm not finished yet. I'm just getting started." I said calmly.

"Oh. You're trying to kill me to revenging her death. But what would that honestly do? You know more than I do that she won't come back to life. It's already over." he said with an annoyed tone and walked farther away.

He was right about Kristina not coming back to life, but I still wanted to kill him.

So without him knowing, I jumped up to flew toward him then punched him hard. He flew across the sidewalk and crashed into his car. I was shocked by how strong I was. But at this moment, it didn't matter much. All that mattered to be was killing him.

"No. You're wrong. It's true that I want to kill you to revenge Kristina's death, but honestly, you pissed me off and I want to kill you." I said boldly, with anger in my voice.

The monster soon got up. He looked pretty pissed off and angry, but it didn't matter to me. All I had to focus on was killing him.

"Ha. You're pretty amusing, but strong. You are stronger and faster than Kristina. You're strength will impress my **master** more than Kristina's will. I guess I will test you and report you to my **master** as well." he said with an impressed expression.

"You won't be able to report anything to your **master**. Because I'll kill you before you get to him." I said angrily.

"Shall we then my boy?" he said joyously.

I knew what I had to do. I had to grab his gun which was lying on the ground beside him then shoot him and kill him with it.

I saw the monster running toward me with his sharp claws. I ran toward him as well. Then I ducked down and ran through under his legs, and reached his gun. As soon as I reached his gun, I immediately turned around and saw the monster running toward me again. And once again I ran towards him, then punched his stomach hard which made him fly up and drop down on the hard ground. Then lastly, I shot him about 5 times to make sure he was dead. I didn't know how I was able to shoot so well, but I did. And before I knew, he was dead.

I killed him and I was glad.

And it was over.

Then without looking at the dead monster, I ran toward Kristina who was lying on the ground without making a single sound. I picked her up and held her tight in my arms. Then I remembered the days when we first met and how we always argued about ridiculous things, and how he always used to laugh about it. But before I knew, that time was just a past for me and her, and I was back in reality with dead Kristina in her arms.

But Suddenly, I heard a faint heartbeat. It was very small, quiet, and faint, but it was a heartbeat for sure. I knew immediately there was a small hope to save her, but she needed a hospital.

I gently and quickly picked her up with my arms, then unfolded my wings, and flew toward the closest hospital around the school as fast as I could.

When I reached the hospital, it was about 12am. No one saw my wings or saw me flying, but that didn't really matter to me. I quickly carried Kristina to the Emergency Room and yelled for help. Soon, some nurses and doctors brought out a stretcher to put her on and carried her to an operating room, and operated on her immediately. I wasn't sure she was going to live, but I hoped she did.

Then the nurses walked towards me and asked if I was okay with their fingers pointing at my left shoulder. Then I remembered how I got shot on the left shoulder by the monster, and didn't stop bleeding. I completely forgot about my shoulder while my attention was focused all on the monster and Kristina. The pain suddenly came back as soon as the nurses asked me about it. I couldn't believe that I endured this pain for so long. I was soon sent to an operating room as well to get my shoulder treated.

I didn't care about the truth. I knew I was going to get things sorted out later.

I knew I was going to figure out the truth later.

Then I fell asleep and I was sure that Kristina did as well.

**-Kristina - (Once again, The Story Will Be In Kristina's Perspective. This Means that Kristina will once again be the "I" in the story. Kristina is the _Narator_/**_**first person **_**in the story).**

I suddenly found my eyes opened wide in bright room. I was in a bright room with a similar scent around me. I soon realized I was in a hospital once again.

I tried to sit up straight, but the pain in my stomach stopped myself from it.

Then a memory of myself fighting an Eraser and protecting Jace from him came to my mind. And I remembered. It was my memory of last night, at the school semi-formal.

Then suddenly, a nurse entered my room and she said; "You're awake." Then she ran out of the room to get someone.

Soon, my sister, Lacie, entered the room with someone who I wanted to make sure was alive, who I save last night. Jace.

My sister looked serious, but Jace looked confused.

Lacie walked towards me and sat on the chair beside me, and Jace followed her, but he didn't sit down. Then Lacie started talking;

"Hey. How are you feeling? You feeling okay? " she asked with a small smile and worried expression on her face.

"Ya. My stomach doesn't feel perfect, but I'll get better soon. You know I heal fast." I said with a small smile to make her feel better.

"Last night, Jace killed the Eraser you were fighting with and the one who also shot you. And he brought you to the hospital then called me instead of mom which was a good thing. As soon as I heard what happened to you and Jace, I knew exactly what was going on, since this happened to me before. I told mom that you were hurt and was at the hospital. Then she and I immediately left for the hospital." She said calmly with a serious expression on her face.

"Okay. So what happened next? I'm guessing the hospital called the police and they came to ask questions to Jace. What did you tell them Jace?" I was first talking to my sister then was talking to Jace. My sister replied immediately;

"He told them what I wanted him to tell them." said my sister proudly.

"You see. Since I knew what happened and knew what was going on. I went to Jace before the police got to him. I told him to tell the police that the kidnapper that kidnapped me had a brother who wanted to kill you. That he thought my kidnapper, his brother, was killed by you, and wanted to kill you since he thought you killed his brother. Then Jace saw what happened and was trying to help you, then you both got extremely injured, actually almost killed. And in the end. the kidnapper's brother killed himself just like his brother did." Lacie said confidently and proudly.

"So you made another story up? That fast? Well, I'll give you the credit for that. But you know what actually happened right? And did you tell Jace about my secrets?" I asked. At first I was smiling a bit, but in the end I was looking at Jace with a serious expression.

"Thank you! I'm actually quite proud of my own work. And yes, I know what actually happened, I actually know more than you do, I heard what happened from Jace after you fainted of losing too much blood. But Jace here doesn't know of your secret yet." She said calmly.

"You didn't tell him? Why not? I mean you knew my secret already." I asked curiously.

"Well, I knew it wasn't my story to tell. It was your secret and story to tell. And I swore not to tell anyone and he's definitely someone, so I didn't tell. And I just wanted to give you two some privacy and something to talk about. That's why I brought Jace to your hospital room with me." she said happily.

I was actually quite proud of my sister as well. I'm sure she felt like a grown up now.

"Okay. Thanks. That was very nice of you to keep the promise you made with me." I said with a sincere voice.

"So I'll leave now, so that you two can talk. And Kristina! Get better faster! I'm sick of hospitals already!" She said with a smile and left the room.

"I will." I replied.

Then the door was shut. My sister left the room. I was now alone with Jace in this room. It was very awkward until Jace started the conversation;

"This is very awkward and weird. But are you okay? You lost a lot of blood last night." he said, and I could see that he was trying to cheer up the mood.

"Ya. It is very awkward. We basically haven't talked ever since I told you that I liked you, remember? But I'm fine, well at least I'll get better." I said without an expression on my face. I didn't know how to react. I honestly didn't know how to respond.

There was a silence in the room for a minute, then Jace started talking again;

"Ya, I remember. I'm sorry. I didn't know how to respond when you texted me that day so I didn't respond at all. Sorry." he said sincerely. I could see that he was trying.

"It's okay. It's already over anyways. Oh, I should probably tell you what I was meant to tell you. You should probably take a seat. It's going to be a long story." I told him pointing at the chair next to me.

Then I tell my story.

I tell Jace everything that has happened to me. From the very beginning. From where I had the dream and until yesterday. I explained about this _scientist_ we had to look for from now on, how he was going to send his _people_ to teach me, to help me with finding the rest of my flock members, and to improve my _strength_ and _gifts_, and to explore and find my true strength. I also told him not to tell anyone about his wings and secrets. And told him what had happened when I told someone, my sister, Lacie, about my secret.

I could see that he understood everything, and that he had a lot of questions he wanted to ask me. But I knew I couldn't give him all the answers he wanted to hear.

But he understood me. And was not going to tell anyone about our secrets.

Then I tried to give him a smile to cheer him up.

To tell him that he wasn't alone.

Then he smiled back at me, and I knew he was trying to tell me that I wasn't alone either.

And I knew I found one.

I found the second member of my flock.

I wasn't alone anymore.

I found him.

**I found Jace.**


	11. Chapter 10

Then I gave him a smile to tell him that he wasn't alone.

Then he smiled back at me, and I knew he was trying to tell me that I wasn't alone either.

And I knew I found one.

I found the second member of my flock.

I wasn't alone anymore.

I found him.

I found Jace.

**Chapter 10**

**F**or the next 10 days, I didn't go to school and stayed at the hospital. I was trying to get fully recovered from the stomach injury that I got during the night of the semi-formal at my school. The night that I discovered my second member of my flock, Jace. I told Jace not to go to school as well, he obviously refused and we ended up arguing again. The first reason why I didn't want Jace to go to school alone was because his injury needed to be fully recovered as well, and the second reason was because I would have felt insecure to just let him go to the school alone. I mean he could get attacked by Erasers anytime in any day. But in the end, he gave up and decided to stay with me at the hospital.

He also had to explain what had happened to him on the night of semi-formal to his parents. He told them the story that my sister, Lacie, made up, and his parents were pretty convinced.

So during these 10 days; In the mornings, I spent time in my room with my sister, mom, and Jace who visited me often, and rested on my bed. In the afternoons, I spent my time mostly with my mom and sister. But at midnights and after until the morning came, I spent my time with Jace. It wasn't a romantic trip. It was just a flying and discovering trip. We met at 12am every night on the hospital roof and flew for 2 to 3 hours, and talked. We also discovered our strengths and speed. We talked about who we hung out with at school for a whole year that we didn't talk to each other for. We also talked about who could be the next member of our flock, but we obviously had no idea. We also talked about what we liked and didn't like. And lastly, we talked about how we used to hang out every day, basically our pasts. It was quite fun, but somehow sad at the same time.

After these 10 days, I finally fully recovered. I could move freely like I could before. The doctors and nurses were shocked by the speed that I recovered. They said that it should normally take about 3 weeks or a month to recover, but I recovered very fast, and they didn't know how or why, but I knew because I wasn't a full human. I went back home with my mom and sister. Jace also went back to his home which was only 3 houses down from mine. We lived very close to each other, but we never really cared much. We decided to meet at 8pm every night at the park near our houses and practice flying. It kind of sounded like a date, but it wasn't, we were getting along just fine as friends. Well, at least I felt that way.

I decided to go to school the next day. Everything was still the same, and the best part was that no one asked me why I was gone, except my best friends Lily and Clary. But I told them I was didn't feel well, and once again, they believed me.

After few days, my whole grade went on a geography field trip. It was basically a walking trip. We first took a school bus to a small town, and walked around from there. The town was beautiful. It had a huge beautiful tall mountain beside it, and other beautiful shops. We visited many shops, and learned about the history of the town, and hiked up the mountain. We had to make sure we stayed with our class and grade. As I said, we came with our whole grade, but still we were separated into classes. While I was hiking, I talked with Lily and Clary who were both in my geography class;

"This town is so beautiful and so quiet." Lily said.

"Ya. It sure is, but it's kind of creepy for me. I mean, isn't it way too quiet for such a beautiful town?" said Clary, who had chills all over her arms.

"It is beautiful, but Clary's right. It's kind of way too quiet. Didn't the tourist say this town was very popular? But there's no one else hiking the mountain except the people from our school." I said.

Clary was right, it was weird for such a beautiful town and mountain to be this quiet. I expected this the town to be full of people and visitors, and expected the mountain to be full of hikers, but there was no one around except for the owners of the shops. It was creepy and weird, but I really liked the quietness of this town and the mountain. It made me feel at ease and safe.

Soon, we reached the top of the mountain, and we could see the whole town from above. It was beautiful and quiet. Lily, Clary, and I took a lot of pictures together, then they decided to go to the water fountain near, but I decided to stay. Looking down from above made me feel safe and sound. It was a great idea to come here as our geography trip. It was actually quite fun, until I heard someone went missing. Then I saw Clary and Lily running toward me;

"Kristina. Did you hear? Someone from our trip went missing." said Lily with a worried expression and tone.

"We just heard the teachers talking about him. They said his supervisor/teacher didn't notice him gone. His friends said he didn't feel well while he was hiking up the mountain, so he went to the bathroom that we passed while we were hiking up. But he never came back for about 30 minutes, so his friends decided to tell the teachers." said Clary with a rush. She looked really worried as well.

"Okay. So who is this student? Do you know him? because you both look really worried." I asked with a confused look on my face.

Then Clary and Lily looked at each other and exchanged a worried look, then nodded at each other. Then Clary spoke;

"Kristina. We are worried about this missing student, but we barely know him. But we do know that you know him well, and we think you're going to be really worried if we told you who he is." Clary said with a really worried look. And of course, Lily looked really worried as well.

"Well. Tell me. I mean, you guys came to me to tell me who he is. Weren't You? I mean, I know you guys wouldn't have told me any of this, if you guys weren't going to tell me. So who is it? Wait, it's not Jace. Is it?" I asked. Now I was really worried. I hoped that it wasn't Jace.

"It's not Jace. It's Daniel" Lily said with a sigh.

"Daniel's gone? We have to look for him then. You both know his one of my best and longest friends, right? He's important. We have to look for him." I demanded with a worried look.

"No, you can't! The teachers told us to stay put. They said that they were going to look for him, and none of the students should try to." Clary said with a solid voice and expression.

"Look, Kris. We know how important he is to you, but we can't do anything. We can't go look for him. We'll get lost ourselves. We just have to wait for the teachers to find him." said Lily, calmly.

I could see that they were trying to calm me down. But I wasn't calm. I couldn't be. Because while Clary and Lily were explaining the situation to me. I thought about what had happened to my sister and Jace. How my loved ones were and would be put in danger because of me. Then I pictured Daniel dying. I didn't know if this was happening for real or not. But I had to make sure it wasn't happening. I had to check it myself. And I didn't plan on waiting patiently.

"I'm sorry. You guys know I'm not very patient." I said then turned around to leave Lily and Clary.

"No! You can't. Kristina! Come back. You might get lost as well." Yelled Clary and Lily, but I ignored them. I felt bad, but I had to do this.

Then I entered a crowd that Jace was in. He was with his friends who were flirting with some girls, but I didn't care if Jace was flirting with them or not. At least not right now. Without caring, I walked towards him. And soon, I was standing right in front of him, and in the middle of the crowd. Then I spoke;

"Sorry to interrupt, but I really need Jace." I said to the crowd with a calm voice and a serious expression. Then I grabbed Jace's wrist and dragged him out of the crowd.

"What's wrong?" He asked immediately. I could see that he was confused as I was.

"He's gone. And we need to find him." I said with a worried expression and serious tone.

"Who's gone?" Jace asked without any hesitation.

"Daniel is. I'm not sure if he got kidnapped by an Eraser or actually got kidnapped by someone, or if he's actually missing. But recently, everyone I care about either almost died or turned out to be a flock member. And I have a bad feeling about this." I said seriously.

"Daniel's missing? I didn't know but I understand Kristina. We do need to find him. But do you know where to find him?" Jace asked.

"No. I don't, but all I know is that he's still on this big mountain somewhere. See, We're only at a small part of the mountain. Maybe, if we went on the very top and looked around, we might be able to find him." I said. I actually wasn't sure if Daniel was still on the mountain somewhere, but all I knew was that we had to find him.

"Are you sure about this? We might not be able to find him." Jace asked.

"I'm positive that he is on the mountain. Somewhere no one is around. I know this sounds all confusing and messed-up. I know that I sound crazy right now, guessing where Daniel might be, and assuming that he might have been kidnapped by an Eraser. But Jace, I really do have a bad feeling about this." I admitted. I knew I sounded crazy, but I really did have a bad feeling and the only person I could tell this to was Jace.

"I believe you. And you don't sound crazy. You sound amazing actually." He said with a smile.

I smiled back. His words made me a bit happy and shy. It was nice getting complimented by Jace for once.

"You know? That's actually the first complement you've ever told me." I said with a grin.

"Ya. I know. I thought we needed some change since we're basically going to be stuck with each other for a long time." He said. Then we both laugh a bit and smile.

When we stopped laughing and smiling, I became serious again;

"Anyways, how are we going to get to the very top of this mountain fast?" I asked, looking up.

"Well. I think we should do what we've been practicing for a while now." He said with a bit of excitement on his face. And automatically, I knew what he meant. Flying.

"You're kidding right? People will see us. You must know that? I mean, Don't you?" I asked with a worried and confused tone.

"There are a lot of big trees here. If we fly high enough, no one will notice. And that's the fastest way to find Daniel." He said confidently, and with a sign I nodded to inform him that he was right.

Then quickly, we found a spot on the mountain with no one else around to see us fly, then we both unfolded our wing and flew up as high as we could, and started our way up to the very top of the mountain.

When we reached the top of the mountain, we looked around the whole mountain from top to bottom from every angle , but Daniel could not be seen.

But then, on the opposite side of the mountain from where my classmates were, I saw someone lying there. I wasn't sure if that person was dead or not, nor if it was Daniel or not, but I knew I had to check who it was and if he was alive or not.

"Jace. Is that a person?" I asked, pointing at the other side of the mountain from where my classmates were.

"Who?" He asked, facing me.

"That one. Right there. Does he look like Daniel to you? He's your best friend. You should know this. Right?" I said. Directly pointing at the guy who was laid there, to show Jace which guy I was talking about.

He took a step forward in the sky, and took a closer look, then stared.

Then without a word, he flew towards the guy.

"Jace! Wait!" I said, but he wasn't listening. So I just followed after him.

But without Jace telling me, I knew.

I knew it was Daniel.

And we found him.

But I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not...


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**S**oon, Jace and I reached the ground, and was standing beside the guy who was laid there.

His face was facing the ground, so we could not see anything but his back.

Then without a word, I slowly knelt down and reached for the guy's body and head, then turned him to face the sky instead of the ground.

Then Jace and I both could see his face, and we could see that it was Daniel.

My eyes widened, but the truth wasn't that I wasn't shocked. A part of me knew that it would be Daniel, but a part of me also wished that it wasn't. Then Jace began;

"Kristina. Is he alive?" he asked. But I did not reply. I was panicking in my head thinking that Daniel was dead and it was my fault. I couldn't hear anything or say anything. Then suddenly, I felt someone shaking me and calling my name out loud. I realized it was Jace. Without noticing, my attention was back to Jace and to reality. Jace was calling my name and repeatedly asking me if Daniel was alive or not. I immediately reached for Daniel's pulse and checked. Then I finally replied;

"Ya. He's alive..." I replied. But something felt wrong, so I gave Jace a confused expression.

"Kristina. What aren't you telling me?" he asked immediately.

"He's alive, but there's something wrong with him. I feel like I know what's wrong with him, but I don't at the same time." I said, with a confused and worried look and tone.

Then before Jace could ask me anymore questions, I suddenly heard loud footsteps. I immediately turned to face Jace and I knew he also heard the footsteps as well. We didn't know what or where it was coming from, but we knew it wasn't a good sign. So I gently put Daniel back on the ground and got up. Jace and I both started looking around from where we were standing, then from one direction, we saw big figures coming towards us, and there were many. And without a single guess or question, we knew what and who they were. They were back. Erasers were back.

Few minutes later, they were surrounding us; me, Jace and Daniel. I looked around, and realized there were too many. There were about 20 of them. I knew Jace and I couldn't take them all out, but we needed to save Daniel. We needed to get him out of here. Then I saw one of the Erasers taking a step closer and he began;

"It is good to see you again Kristina. My dear little girl." He said. And without a doubt, I knew it was the scientist from my dreams.

"It's you again. Why don't you come out and show me your true face? So I can start getting some answers and rip your heart out in the end for what you've done to me?" I said with hatred in my face and tone. But I had to admit, saying that I would rip his heart out was a bit dramatic, but I was angry and filled with hatred towards him for what he did to my sister, Jace, and Daniel. Then I saw Jace looking at me and giving me a small smile. I guess he found what I said amusing. Then the scientist controlling an Eraser's body started talking again;

"Oh Sweetie. Why would I want to come out if you're going to rip my heart out? You should be more convincing than that to get me to see you." He said with a joyful tone and expression. But I wasn't laughing or being joyful. Then I looked down at Daniel and back at the scientist then began;

"Did you do this to him?" I asked with no emotion in my tone, but hatred on my face.

But without answering me, he turned to face Jace.

"Ah. My dear boy. I see that you're now a hybrid as well. I knew I would see this day. So how does it feel like? Did you tell your parents or siblings? Well, I'm guessing that you didn't tell anyone knowing what had happened to Kristina's sister when she told her sister about her secret." he said.

"Oh thanks for asking. I feel fine, just fine. So you're the one who ruined her and my life? Well. It's so nice to finally meet you." he said with a serious expression and sarcastic voice.

"Well, Jace. You know all about humour don't you?" The scientist said and laughed at the same time.

I clenched my jaw tight with hatred expression on my face. My mind was filled with hatred towards him for hurting my loved ones and ruining my life. I slowly released my wings then started walking towards him, but then something suddenly grabbed me, it was Jace. His face turned to face me and gave me a serious expression and began;

"Don't. You're only wasting your time and energy." He said. And I knew he was right. So I took a deep breath and turned to face the scientist.

"I'll ask you again. Did you do this to Daniel?" I asked with no patience in my voice.

"Dear girl, I think you already know the answer to that. Don't you?" He said and gave me an evil grin.

This time, without a second thought or stopping, I ran towards him with my wings released and my fist in the air. He was still smiling. Then I saw several Erasers jumping in between me and the scientist who was using an Eraser's body to communicate with me, so I attacked the Erasers to get to the scientist.

Soon, I realized both me and Jace were fighting to survive, and Daniel was still unconscious. After I knocked down the Erasers who were standing between me and the scientist, the scientist was already gone. I was furious. Then I looked around from where I was standing. There were still many Erasers left to kill, but not many people to kill them. It was just me and Jace. I knew this wasn't going to be an easy fight, so I started thinking hard. But for some weird reasons, all I could think about was Maximum Ride. I wasn't trying to, but that was all I could think about. I knew her flock had other super powers, but we didn't, and we needed to live. I remembered the part where Max killed her half brother Ari by snapping his neck, and how he just died. So I decided to try that. I wish I had another option to kill them, but there were none.

Without any hesitation, I flew up and jumped down to one of the Eraser and stepped on him, then snapped his neck as hard as I could. And with the sound of his neck bones snapping, he fell and died. I got up and breathed hard. It was scary to realize that I've killed a person, but it was so fascinating to realize how fast they died. Then I turned to face Jace, but he was already looking at me, stunned. I could see why he was so stunned. Probably because he always thought I was a small girl who didn't enjoy fighting, and now I killed an Eraser in less than a minute like a killing machine or something. Then he started;

"How the hell did you do that?" he asked with a stunned look on his face.

"Ummm.. It wasn't that hard. And don't look at me like that. I'm not a killing machine or insane. Just jump on one of them and snap its neck." I said.

Then without another word, he ran towards an Eraser, then jumped on him and snapped his neck. The Eraser fell to the ground. I could see that he could do this faster and easier than me. He looked stunned by how easily he killed it. But I knew if both Jace and I were normal humans, we wouldn't have the strength and the speed to kill the Erasers. It was because we became a hybrid that we became this strong and fast, but I wasn't glad that I became one.

Now Jace and I both knew how to kill those Erasers, but I knew we couldn't kill all of them at once. But we still needed to try.

Jace and I both started running towards the group of Erasers. Jace and I started fighting. We both killed many Erasers and received few light wounds, but there were still more to kill.

Then I suddenly heard someone yelp. I immediately turned around and found an Eraser's claws in Jace's left arm. Few seconds later, the Eraser pulled his claws out of Jace's arm. Jace took few steps backward and yelped and gasped in pain, but I knew he would soon heal and would live. Then suddenly, I felt something piercing into my back. I immediately turned around and found an Eraser's claws pierced into my back. Then I thought; 'I should have never turned back in front of my enemy.' I immediately fell on my knees with my arms touching the ground and holding me up, and was coughing a bit of blood out of my mouth. As soon as I fell, I heard a sound of bones snapping. But it wasn't the sound of my bones snapping. I immediately turned around and saw Jace snapping an Eraser's neck, then the Eraser knelt down on his knees as well. The Eraser that Jace killed was the Eraser who had his claws in my back. But even when the Eraser was dead, the Eraser's claws were still inside my back. Then I yelped again and began;

"Pull it out! Jace! Pull it out." I said with tears in my eyes of pain.

"But... Fine. Close your eyes. This is going to hurt." He said with a serious tone.

So I closed my eyes tight. Then without any hesitation, Jace pulled the Eraser away from me which pulled the claws out of my back, and I screamed in pain. I turned to face Jace. I saw that his arm was now fully healed, but I knew he was about to run towards me again, but then I yelled;

"No! Don't come. Keep fighting! I'm fine." I yelled.

Then Jace replied "But...", but I did not give him a chance to reply and said;

"No! Don't! Go!" I said.

Then with a worried expression on his face, he went back to fighting. And I was back in pain. I knew my injury would take longer to heal compared to Jace's injury which was already fully recovered, but I needed to heal fast. Jace needed help. We needed help. Then I saw Jace's blood dripping down from his cut skin which an Eraser's claw created, but this time, he did not yelp or gasp, he kept on fighting. And I knew, I had to heal faster no matter what.

My wings were still unfolded. I could not fold it into my back because of the pain. I felt myself healing very slowly, too slowly.

Then I suddenly heard someone calling my name; "Kristina?"

I immediately looked around to see who it was. Then my eyes widened. I saw Daniel. His head a facing my way. Daniel was awake. But that wasn't the reason why my eyes widened; I saw something I could not believe. When I faced Daniel, I saw something brown behind his back. But before I could think, he said again;

"Kristina? Is that you?" he asked.

I was too shocked. I mean, how was I going to explain all of this to him.

"Jace?! Jace!" I called for Jace. Then he said;

"Just a sec." Jace replied right away. He was gasping hard, so I knew he was fighting. I looked around to look for him, then I saw Jace jumping and flying out of the crowd of Erasers. Then he landed right beside me, and then knelt down to support me from falling down of pain again. Then he began;

"What's wrong?" he asked without even noticing Daniel's consciousness..

And without giving him a reply, I just pointed my finger at Daniel and the big brown object behind him. Then Jace turned his face to face what I was pointing at and saw Daniel awake, and his wings. Daniel's wings. Daniel's brown wings. And Jace's eyes were wide open as well.

"He's awake? And is that what I think it is on his back?" Jace whispered in my ears.

Without talking, I just nodded as a reply. Then Daniel started talking;

"Jace? Kristina? What the hell is going on? Did I just see you fly?" He asked. He sounded like a little kid who was really confused of what was going on.

Of course, I couldn't blame him. So I began; "I'll explain later. But first..." But before I could finish, I saw myself coughing a large amount of blood from my mouth. Then Jace said;

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Ya... I'm fine... I will be..." I said, but groaned after every single word I've said.

"No. You're not!" Jace said, with an angry and worried expression on his face.

"If you already knew the answer, then why did you ask me?" I yelled.

But before Jace could even reply, we both turned around. We both heard something. We both heard the sound of the Erasers who were coming back for us. I try to get up, but before I could, Jace stopped me from getting up, then just gave me a look. His look showed me that he didn't want me to fight. Then I said;

"You can't do this alone!" I said.

"I know I can't, but he and I could." He said, looking at Daniel. Then I turned to face Daniel as well.

"Okay. I'm going to buy you a little time and you're going make him help me. Okay. You got this?" He said. His instructions were clear. Then he turned to face the Erasers again. But before he could start fighting, I grabbed his arm and said;

"Just be careful! Okay?" I said.

"Yes mom. You know I'm very good at that!" He said sarcastically and gave me a small grin, then he was off.

As for me, without looking back, I faced Daniel. I started to try explaining things, but I barely had any energy left in me to talk and as every minute passed, I could hear Jace getting hurt. Then Daniel started asking;

"What is going on Kristina? What is happening?" he asked. But I could not give him full detail since I barely had any energy in me, but I decided to try.

"You... Have... To... Help... Him..." I said with gasps between every word.

Daniel looked confused, so I tried to give him another sentence to make him understand and help Jace, but before I could do that, someone else answered his question for him, and it was Jace;

"Um... Daniel? Do you really not know what's going on? Kristina and I are dying. That's what's going on right now. So do you wanna help? Because you have wings just like us, which means you have the same power as us." Jace said while fighting and snapping an Eraser's neck, with a bit of an amused tone in his voice. I had to admit, it was quite funny, the fact that he sarcastically snapped his best friend for once. I smiled a bit.

"Oh..." Daniel replied in shock. "I'll be right there." Then he got up. But before he could leave, I grabbed his wrist then began with the very last energy left in me before I fainted;

"Daniel! Fly up or run towards them as fast as possible, then grab their neck and snap it. Okay? It'll kill them." I said.

Daniel looked a bit shock, but he and I both knew he could do it since Jace could. Then with a nod, he started running towards one of the Erasers, but before I could see if Daniel killed one or not, I fainted.

After few minutes, I could hear someone calling my name. So I opened my eyes to see who they were and saw Jace and Daniel. They both had blood over their clothes which was probably because they were fighting the Erasers with all of their strengths. And I noticed that it was quiet around us, which probably meant victory for us, but I decided to make sure I was right and began;

"Are they gone?" I said, while I was trying to lift myself up.

"With this amount of quietness, I think they are." Jace said, while he was helping me lift myself up.

At first, I sighed, then I smiled at him. And we all smiled at each other.

"You know this is really freaky and weird right? I mean. Look at us. We have wings. Nothing about us is normal anymore." Daniel said. Then Jace and Daniel both smiled. But I didn't.

"You're okay about this? How are you okay? You just killed like 20 people who were once human." I asked with a surprised expression and serious tone.

"Of course we both feel bad and terrible about the fact that we killed 20 people, but they were about to kill us ALL. If we didn't kill them, they would have killed us and you know that. Don't you?" Daniel said, with a serious expression. Then Jace began;

"Dan and I both know how you feel, but this is not just about us. Who do you think they would have killed if we didn't kill them first? They would have killed our friends or even our families. And it's better if we get our hands and feeling bad and terrible than getting our family and friends killed." Jace said.

Then I knew, they were right and they didn't kill those Erasers because they were afraid. They killed them to protect our loved ones, and we all knew it was worth it. And I could see and feel that they were also afraid when they killed those Erasers, because they both knew that the Erasers were all once human beings, and how killing a life was hard and terrible. So I took a deep breath, then I started talking;

"You guys are right. I guess I'm wrong again. It's great to see you guys as best friends again." I said with a sigh then trying to smile a bit.

"No. You aren't wrong. You're just afraid of killing. Even though they tried to kill us." Jace said. And I could see that he was trying to smile as well. Then Daniel suddenly gave a small laugh and began;

"So are you guys dating or what?" he asked.

Then Jace and I replied at the same time; "No! We Are Not!"

I felt bitter and happy at the same time when I said that, but I didn't care because all that mattered to me right now was that we were all alive.

"I just thought you know. Because you know, the last time you guys acted like this was when we were all in grade 8 and when you guys were about to date. And don't deny it because... Well, I guess you guys already know the answer to this." Daniel said using a sassy and sad caring tone. And I knew he was just trying to make us laugh, because Daniel only acted like this in front of us. He always acted quiet, mysterious, and hot at school, and all girls fell for him, but not me.

Then without another word said, we all burst into laughter.

"Okay. That was quite funny. But do you guys know what time it is? Because if it's too late then we'll get in trouble, and probably the whole school is looking for us." I asked.

"About that, Dan and I just flew up for a minute while you were unconscious and the whole school was looking for us. They were searching the whole town, but not the mountain." Jace said with a smile. Then I sighed with gladness.

"But it is a bit late. We were supposed to be at school till 3pm, but it's already 6pm. I guess they'll kill us when they find us." Daniel said, also with a smile on his face.

Honestly, these two boys were like besties. I knew 'besties' was the word that only girls use, but they were really funny and they were really good friends.

"Okay then! Let's go back! Before the whole school dies from boredom of trying to find us." I said.

Then once again we started laughing.

Soon we all turned around to face the way down from the mountain. We were standing side by side; Jace on my left and Daniel on my right. They soon put their arms on my shoulder, then I said;

"You know just because I'm shorter than either of you, doesn't mean you guys can use me as your arm pillow." I said laughing.

"We just fought 20 Erasers. Come on. You can do this for us can't you?" Daniel asked. Then I smiled and said; "Fine. But just today."

Then we began to walk down the mountain. But then I saw a small shadow and movement behind a tree on the way down. So I began;

"Wait! Someone's here." I said with my finger pointing at the tree that I saw the shadow at.

Jace and Daniel both faced towards the tree.

Then without another word or sentence said to make the shadow come out, the shadow showed itself. The shadow had a shocked expression on its face, but looked calm at the same time.

Then I took a step closer.

My eyes widened, and I wished that I didn't call for the shadow. I wished that I didn't discover her.

The shadow had straight natural blonde hair and snow white skin.

She looked familiar. She looked like her.

Then Jace began; "Kristina who is it?" he asked.

But without turning back to face both Jace and Daniel to answer their questions, I just stared at the girl, and said;

"Holly."


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Holly." I said with no expression on my face, and I just stared, and she stared back at me as well. It was silent for about a minute. Then I turned around to face Jace and Daniel to see their reaction. They had the same expression as I did. Stunned and shocked, but calm at the same time. I looked into Jace's and Daniel's eyes, and they looked back at me as well. We were all shocked because we all knew that Holly was watching the whole time. From the beginning till the very end. And I knew someone had to say something to her. And since the boys were having their shocked moment and was unable to talk to Holly, I decided to talk to her instead. Try to make her understand. So I took a deep breath and turned back around to face Holly again. She was still standing where she was about 3 minutes ago. I looked her in the eye and began;

"Holly. Did you see everything?" I asked with a calm voice and nervous expression.

But she did not reply. She just stared.

So I took a step forward towards her. Then she took a step back as if she was scared of me. So I took another step forward, then said "Holly. I'll explain everything. Please."

But then, before I could explain or say another word, she turned around and ran down the mountains, away from me, Jace, and Daniel.

"Holly! Wait!" I yelled. But she did not reply, and only ran. So I decided to go after her. To convince her of what had happened, but I knew I couldn't tell her the truth about my secret. But I knew I had to stop her. So I took a step forward to begin the chase, but then I suddenly felt a hand grabbing my wrist. I immediately turned around and saw Daniel stopping me. Then he began;

"You can't go after her." he said, giving me a serious look.

"Of course I can. She's our friend, and she needs an explanation." I said with a serious tone.

"Fine. Let's say you went after her and got her attention. Then what are you going to tell her?" Daniel asked with a serious tone and expression.

Then I started thinking. He was right, but I didn't care. Then I began "I don't know. But she needs an explanation. We need to..." But before I could finish, Jace cut in.

"Need to tell her the truth? And get her killed? I don't think that's what you want. Or any of us want. Think Kristina. Even if you go after her, you can't tell her anything and you know it." Jace said with a serious tone and worried expression.

"We have to give her time. We can see her tomorrow at school." Daniel said.

"Fine..." I reply.

I was a bit worried, but I was also glad that I didn't go after her, because Jace, Daniel, and I all knew that I wouldn't be able to give her a good explanation.

Then without a word, we walked down the mountain.

Soon we reached the bottom of the mountain and saw all the students and teachers from our school looking for us. And I could see in their faces that they've been looking for us for a long time. Then one of the teachers, who was female, spotted us and walked towards us. She began;

"Where have you all been? We've been looking everywhere for you guys." she asked.

I was about to give her a reply. I was going to tell another lie. But my mind went blank. I could not think of a lie. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I didn't know what I was going to tell her. So I turned around to face Jace and Daniel to ask for some help. I first faced Jace, but he gave me a look that meant he had no idea either. So I turned to Daniel. Then he sighed and he began;

"You see, I didn't feel well so I was looking for a bathroom, but I couldn't find one. So I went around the whole town to find one, but I still couldn't find one. Then I decided to give up and look for you guys, but when I went up the mountain, I got lost. Then after about 1 hour, Jace and Kristina found me. Thanks to them, I found my way down." Daniel said. With a calm expression and tone.

As for me, inside my head, I was thanking Daniel for making and telling a lie. Then the teacher began again;

"You should have never left without a teacher's permission. You should have told one of us. Not your friends. And you two! We specifically told you guys not to try to find him. What if you guys got lost?" she said furiously.

"Sorry." Daniel, Jace, and I all apologized at the same time.

"At least you two found Daniel. I'm glad you guys are all safe. That's what really matters. But none of you should behave this way again. Understood?" she said.

"Yes." We replied.

Then the teacher walked away to inform the other teachers and students that we've been found, and that we could now all go back to the school, and to our homes.

Soon, all the students and teachers gathered and was waiting for the school bus to pick us up. I was still standing beside Jace and Daniel until I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and saw Lily and Clary running towards me. Then I turned back to Jace and Daniel and began;

"My friends are coming. So I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow and talk to Holly." I said.

"Okay. See you." Jace replied.

"Bye" Daniel replied.

Then I walked over to my friends who were still running towards me. Then they began;

"I'm so glad that you're okay. We've been so worried." Lily said.

"You were gone for like 2 hours. We were worried sick." Clary said.

"Sorry guys. I didn't want to worry you guys, so I decided to just leave without telling either of you. But I guess that made things worse. Didn't it?" I asked.

"Ya. It did!" Lily replied. I've never seen Lily so upset. She was always the calm and nice one. But I guess she can get upset.

"Okay. Honestly, Something's up! You've been acting really weird. I mean, you said you didn't like talking to Jace anymore since it was all awkward between you guys, but I just saw you guys talking about 1 minute ago." Clary said. I wasn't shocked to hear that from Clary. She was always straight forward with her opinion and feelings.

"Once again, I'm sorry that I worried you guys. But seriously, can we not talk about Jace. I'm really tired right now. Maybe, we're just getting along as friends now. I don't know. But can we just go home please?" I said. I actually didn't know what was/is going on between me and Jace, but all I cared about in my mind right now was Holly. So I couldn't really tell myself what was going on. All I wanted to do right now was to get home.

"Fine. I guess we'll talk about this tomorrow." Clary replied.

"Thank you." I answered.

The school bus soon arrived, and we soon reached the school, and to our homes. I walked home alone, I honestly wanted to fly home because I was so tired, but I couldn't risk anyone seeing me. So I just decided to walk.

When I got home, my mom was gone to work, but my sister, Lacie, was sitting on the sofa, watching TV. As soon as I entered, my sister sat up and began;

"What took you so long? Your trip was suppose to end 3 hours ago, and it's already 6pm!" Lacie said with a worried tone and angry expression.

"Sorry. I got caught up by some Erasers on the trip." I replied with a tired voice and expression.

"Oh. What happened?" Lacie asked. Her expression totally changed from angry to really worried.

Then with her question asked, I looked her in the eye. And I knew I couldn't hide from her. So I took a deep breath and let it out. Then I began telling my sister of what had happened on my geography field trip. About what had happened to Daniel. About how Jace and I found him. And about how Holly was watching us the whole time and how she now knows our secret, but ran away from us before we could speak to her. Then my sister began;

"So you didn't tell her the truth?" Lacie asked.

"I told you I couldn't tell her the truth. She ran away. Well I was going to chase her and tell her the truth, but then Jace and Daniel stopped me and told me that I shouldn't put her in danger by telling her the truth. They said I should give her time, and talk to her tomorrow at school." I said.

"Oh... So are you going to tell her the truth tomorrow? Or are you going to tell her a lie?" Lacie asked curiously.

"I honestly don't know. I mean, I can't tell her a lie because she already saw the whole thing. But I don't want to tell her the truth and get her killed." I said honestly.

"Okay. You figure that out with Jace and Daniel! I would help you if I could, but I honestly don't know what to say... Oh Wait..." Then she paused and looked down, then she looked up again and began; "Actually, there is a way, just don't talk to her at all. Then you won't have to tell her anything." Lacie concluded.

"Ignore my friend? Really? That's the best idea you came up with to help me?" I asked with worried and angry expression on my face. Actually, her idea was okay, but I wasn't going to just ignore one of my best friends.

"Hey! At least I came up with something." Lacie replied with a smile and offended look on her face. Then I sighed and smile, then walked up to my room.

I was too tired and exhausted. Then I remembered! I was supposed to meet Jace and Daniel tonight for a flying trip, but I couldn't. I lost too much blood and energy today. So I texted Jace and Daniel to tell them I couldn't show up tonight. They replied saying it was fine. And then I immediately went to bed.

Next day, I woke up early, ate breakfast, then walked to school.

My first period for today was science. I normally have science with Holly, so I expected her to show up. I sat in my seat and waited for her arrival, but she never showed up. Soon, I realized she didn't come to school today at all. Without thinking about any other reasons, I knew she didn't show up after seeing Jace's, Daniel's and my wings. She must have really freaked out. Holly was never the type who would freak out over anything, but I guess she was freaked out by us.

My first period, science, soon ended. Then my next period soon ended as well. And the bell for lunch rang. I immediately left the class room and started searching for Jace and Daniel. It didn't take a long time to look for them. They were walking down the hallway with a group of girls. Then they stopped and their locker and the girls left. So I walked towards them.

"Hey. Holly's not here at school today. So I guess we won't tell her the truth?" I asked.

"I noticed that too. She wasn't in my math class during the second period either." Daniel replied.

"You know what my sister suggested yesterday? She said we should just ignore her and tell her nothing. She said that would prevent us from getting her killed." I said.

"Actually. You know? Your sister has a point. She's pretty smart after all." Jace said with humour in his voice. Then Daniel laughed.

"Oh shut up Jace!" I replied. "Anyways. Are you guys free tonight?" I asked.

"Ya." Replied both Daniel and Jace.

"Let's go to Holly's house and talk to her. If she refuse to listen, then we're going to pick her up and fly out of her window, then fly up as high as we can and force her to listen. Sounds like a plan?" I asked with worried expression, but excitement in my voice.

"Sure. Why not. She would hate us for it, but it doesn't matter does it." Jace replied.

Then I gave Jace the look. In my head I was thinking how sarcastic Jace was.

"I'll pick her up and fly." Daniel said, without any hesitation. Jace immediately looked at Daniel and gave him a confused look. I did too, but I knew what was going on.

"You still like her, don't you?" I asked with a small grin.

"I don't know. Let's just meet at Jace's house after school." Daniel replied.

I could see that Jace was about to say something, but before he could, I began;

"That sounds good. I'll see you guys then." I replied and walked away.

The lunch hour soon ended. And I was soon in my next period, math. Then after math, I went to my fourth period which was art. And before I knew it, the school ended.

I walked to my house. Dropped my stuff off there, then told my mom that I'll be hanging out with my friends, then left to Jace's house. Jace's house was right next to mine, so I thought I would be the second one to arrive after Jace, but when I got there, Daniel was already there with Jace.

We all gathered and walked to Holly's house. When we arrived, we rang the door bell. Soon, someone opened the door. It was Holly's mom, . So I began;

"Hello . I'm not sure you still remember me, but I'm Kristina, and this is Jace and Daniel." I introduced myself politely.

"Of course I remember you all. You've all known Holly for 6 years. How could I forget. So how can I help you all today?" asked gently.

"Holly was absent today, so we just decided to check on her to see if she was okay. Can we just see her for a few minutes?" I asked politely with a big smile on my face.

"Of course. I'm actually leaving right now to see a friend of mine. So please, come in. She'll be in her room upstairs." She politely pointed the way to the stairs.

"Thank you ." I replied and entered the house.

Soon, I realized Daniel, Jace, and I were all in Holly house. We all heard Holly's mom starting her car engine and the sound slowly fading away, which meant left the house. We slowly went up the stairs and towards Holly's room. Her room door was wide opened. We all entered her room and found Holly laid on her bed with a blanket over her. So I began;

"Holly. It's me. Kristina. Daniel and Jace are here as well. So How are you?" I asked politely and gently with a worried expression on my face.

As soon as I finished my sentence, Holly immediately got up and faced me. I guess she didn't know we were here. She looked shocked. So I continued;

"Holly. You didn't hear me out yesterday. You ran away. I owe you an explanation." I said with a serious tone. I decided to tell her the truth. I decided this on my own without even telling either Jace or Daniel. Then Jace and Daniel cut in and whispered;

"What are you doing? You can't tell her the truth." Daniel said angrily and worried expression on his face.

"He's right. You can't tell her." Jace whispered, agreeing with Daniel.

"No. She needs to hear the truth. We owe her an explanation. We can't hide from her. She already saw everything. She's our closest friend. If she's in danger, we'll save her." I said, but I wasn't whispering.

"No!" said Holly. Her one word stopped our argument. " I don't want to know. You guys are weird. I'm weird. I was hallucinating yesterday. I was imagining things." Holly said. She was scared and terrified.

"We have to tell her. She's freaking out. None of us want to see her like this. We have to make her see the reality." I said with a serious tone and worried expression.

Then with a sigh, Daniel and Jace both agreed; "Fine."

"No! I don't want to know." Holly yelled.

"Okay. She's now freaking out and scared. We have to calm her down. Come On! Do you guys want to see her like this?" I said. Then I gave both Daniel and Jace a look to tell them that we're going to do what we were going to do when Holly refused to listen. Then Daniel began;

"She'll hate me for this." Daniel said.

"She can't possibly hate you right now. She's losing her mind right now. I think she'll hate you if you don't do this." Jace replied.

"I know that. Okay. Let's just get this over with." Daniel said.

Then without a word, I walked towards her window and opened it wide. As soon as I opened the window, Daniel picked Holly up off her bed; then Jace first jumped out of the window, me second, and Daniel and Holly followed. We flew up as high as well could. I could see Holly screaming while we were flying. Then soon the screaming stopped and we all stopped flying up. Then Holly began;

"What the hell?" She said with a freaked out, but calm and serious expression on her face. And Jace, Daniel, and I all knew the Holly that we knew were back.

"You're back! You were really freaked out yesterday and today at your house." I said.

"Are we flying right now? You guys have wings! What the heck?" Holly freaked. It was a bit funny to watch her freak out. She's never acted this way before.

"Okay. Since you're back, we're going to explain what is going on. Where should I start...? You see..." I stopped myself, but before I could continue, I felt a large air force coming towards us. So I knew it was either a plane or a helicopter. I turned to face the way which I felt the air force coming from, and so did Jace and Daniel. So I knew both Jace and Daniel also felt the huge air force coming towards us as well.

For a moment, we watched and waited to see what created the air force. Soon we saw a large dark figure coming towards us. I flew a bit closer to the figure to see what exactly it was.

When I could finally see what the figure was, I immediately took a step backwards in the air.

I could see what is was, but it wasn't a single figure, but many.

I could see what those figures were.

They were as familiar as ever.

It was hard for me to forget them, after what they've done.

They were Erasers.

They've come back for us.

But they were different this time.

Now they had wings.

Just like us.


	14. Chapter 13

I could see what those figures were.

It was hard for me to forget them, after what they've done.

They were Erasers.

They've come back for us.

But they were different this time.

Now they had wings.

Just like us.

**Chapter 13**

** I **felt my eyes widen, but I couldn't feel anything else but staring at the Erasers who were coming closer to Jace, Daniel, Holly and I. Neither Jace or Daniel said a single word, which indicated that they were as shocked as I was. But then Holly began;

"What the heck?! What are those?! Are those the things that I saw on the day of the geography field trip?" Holly said with a confused and worried tone and expression.

"Shhhhh..." I replied quietly Holly. I was trying to think, because I knew we couldn't fight all of them with Daniel carrying Holly. But if Daniel left to Holly's house to return her, Jace and I would be killed. I could see that we had no option.

"Kristina." said Jace with a calm tone. And the way he said my name told me that he knew we couldn't fight them alone with Daniel carrying Holly.

"I know. I'm trying to think." I replied. I was frustrated and running out of ideas. And each second of thinking passed, the Erasers were getting closer to us.

"They're coming." said Daniel, but he did not sound worried or scared. He just sounded calm. So I turned to face Daniel and Jace. First I turned to Daniel and then final concluded;

"Our plan is to just fight. But you won't be fighting. You'll be carrying Holly. I can't let you and Jace fight alone, because I can't carry Holly. She's taller than I am and I don't have the right to sit out on this one, since I'm the one who suggested to take her out here." I said. Daniel was about to comment and disagree with me, but before he could, I turned to Jace;

"You and I are going to protect Holly just like we promised. We have to protect everyone who we care about. And even if you, Daniel, or I get hurt by chance, promise that we will keep fighting without looking back. Because the moment we look back, we'll all be dead. We can do this." I said.

I could see that neither Daniel or Jace could complain and disagree since they both knew I was right. Especially Daniel. Since he knew that Jace and I would be dead if he went to drop Holly off at her house. They seemed to be thinking for a while, then they finally replied;

"Fine. We agree." they replied.

"We can do this. We've survived this far. We can survive farther than this." I said, then I turned to face the Erasers.

"Kristina?" Holly suddenly called. She sounded very calm.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Whatever you, Jace, and Daniel are trying to hide from me, I want to know after all of this. I was a bit freaked out a minute ago. I've never freaked out so much in my life. But after hearing you saying those things to Jace and Daniel... Well, I just want to know." She said calmly. And I knew the real Holly was back.

"Yeah. I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything just like I used to." I said giving her a faint smile. Then I looked up to see Daniel's face and gave him a nod. Then I turned to Jace and said;

"Let's do this,"

Soon, I could see all the Erasers right in front of my eyes. They made me sick as always.

Before they could start the conversation, I decided to begin it.

"By the looks of you guys coming here, I'm guessing your master mind doctor figured out that Holly now knows about our secret? I'm wondering how he made you guys so fast after we killed a dozen last time...? Wait, Is he here today?" I said, trying to sound strong and carefree. Then one of them stepped closer to me.

"Oh dear Kristina. I see that you've missed me. You're wondering how I made these Erasers so fast? Well, you see, my company has more than 500 hundred scientists from all around the world hoping to make a better future with more gifted people, like you. Are you satisfied with my answer, sweetie?" He answered. As soon as he replied, I knew automatically he was the scientist from my dream and reality.

"Isn't it about time you showed yourself?" I asked.

"No. It's not the time yet..." said the scientist.

"Clearly." said Jace. Then I could see the scientist turning to face Jace.

"My boy. So are you getting used to being a hybrid?" asked the scientist.

"Well. Except for the freaky wings, I'm doing just fine. But what do you care? You wouldn't have made me like this if my comfort was your interest." Snapped Jace. The scientist did not react. Then he began his next sentence as if he didn't hear Jace at all;

"Let's get to the point. I'm here today to train you all. Not to injure you or try to kill you." he said with satisfactory in his voice.

"Isn't that what you say every time we meet? But you always ended up almost killing at least one of us?" I asked.

"That was because all of you were weak." said the scientist.

"Ouch." said Jace. Then I turned my head and gave Jace a look and thought 'Really? Can you please get serious?'. Then I turned my head back to the scientist.

"Maybe you should have made us stronger." I said.

"Well. I couldn't exactly make you kill my Erasers when you were a child. But I'm making you stronger now by letting you kill them . Since You all have a purpose in this world." said the scientist.

"Maybe, a bit more detail?" asked Jace.

"Nonsense. Maybe when you guys come and find me." replied the scientist.

"How do we find you then? You never give us any detail even though you want us to find you." I said.

"Follow your instinct child. Just go to wherever your instinct tells you to." said the Scientist with no emotion whatsoever on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"Now. I can't waste more time talking. It's almost sundown. If we delay this any longer till after the sundown, we might not be able to see and catch what we drop." He said looking directly at Holly. Then turned directly to me.

"Well, Kristina. It was nice seeing you alive again. And maybe the next time I see you, you might have your full flock. Who knows." said the scientist, then he disappeared through the crowd of Erasers. I wanted follow him. I wanted to get more answers, but even if I tried, he would be gone already, and I knew that, so I did not chase after him.

As soon as he disappeared through the crowd, the Erasers immediately flew towards us. Jace, Daniel, and I immediately dodged them by flying up. And I could immediately sense that their speed of the wings were a lot slower than ours. I was a bit amused.

"You guys are a bit slow in time." I said with a grin on my face.

They just stared back at me at first, but eventually their faces wrinkled with anger, then they flew towards us again with claws on their hands.

I soon realized, we were in a big fight. A fight with too many Erasers and too less people to help. Jace and I both got claws through our bodies many times. One through our ribs, arm, stomach, and etc. I could remember myself screaming during these injuries, but I tried not to because I didn't want neither Jace or Daniel to lose their focus and try to help me. Whenever I got severe injuries and needed more time to heal than usual, Jace fought harder to make sure no Erasers attacked me during the healing process. I could also see that Daniel was trying dodging every move to keep Holly from getting hurt or injured, but I could see that Daniel got few scratches and scars on his body. And once again, I got up and began fighting again.

"You okay Jace?" I asked while killing an Eraser

"Yeah. Are you?" replied Jace while he was running towards an Eraser.

"I'm fine. Daniel are you okay?" I asked Daniel without actually turning to face him.

"I'm not even fighting so I'm doing better than both of you." replied Daniel while carrying Holly.

Then I could see another Eraser running towards me. This one was bigger, so I couldn't fight him head on head. So I immediately grabbed his arm and twisted it. The Eraser yelped and screamed in pain. I could hear his bones twisting and snapping. Then I began reaching for his neck to snap it and kill him, but I was stopped. I felt something sharp pierce through my ribs and stomach. By the feeling of with, it was an Eraser with his claws. Then I felt another sharp pain through my left shoulder, but the claws pierced through my stomach was still there. Which meant that there are more than one Eraser behind my back. So without killing the Eraser in front of me, I just kicked him as far as I could. Then with very little energy left in me, I swung my legs backward and kicked the Eraser who had his claws through my stomach away from me. This pulled his claws out of my stomach. Now I had one Eraser left to get rid of behind my back, but I didn't have much time. I felt weak, and dizzy. And I was coughing blood out of my mouth. And I was bleeding out of my stomach. The Eraser who was still behind me had his claws pierced into my left shoulder. It hurts. But I had to get him off me. So with all the energy left inside me, I reached for my left shoulder with my right hand, then grabbed his neck with my right arm and twisted it, and killed him. He was dead. I felt his claws removed from my left shoulder and I could see that now he was falling down. But he didn't seem to be getting farther down from where I was. I was definitely sure that he was dead and was now falling down, so in my eyes, he should be dropping farther away from me, but he wasn't. Then I realized what was going on. There was only one possible way that this could happen. I was falling down as well.

I was unable to open my wings to fly because I was bleeding out and had no energy left.

Then I opened my eyes and saw someone flying down towards me, but eyes were too blurry to see who exactly it was. I'm guessing he saw me falling down with no energy left in me to get back up. Soon, he swooped under me then caught me with his arms. Now I could clearly see his face. Then I said; "Jace."

"You scared me a bit there Kristina." he said with a smile on his face.

**Daniel** and Holly saw Kristina fall. And Jace going after her. They were glad that Jace was going after her, but now they were alone with the Erasers.

"She's not dead is she?" asked Holly.

"No, Of course not. Holly." replied Daniel with a worried expression on his face.

"Then why do you look so worried?" asked Holly.

"Because we might be." replied Daniel.

"We might die?" asked Holly. But Daniel did not reply.

"I just need to hold them off until Jace and Kristina comes back. But I can't really do that with you in my arms. But I'll try." said Daniel, trying to sound as confident as he could. But he knew there were too many Erasers to fight alone.

"No. You can't. Even I can see that you can't fight them alone. Especially with me you're carrying." said Holly. She knew she was right. She knew Daniel could fight them alone with her in his arms. So she began again;

"Just drop me for a second. I mean, I'm like 10 thousand feets above the ground. Even if I fall, I'll have about 10 minutes in the air to reach the ground level. So you can distract them for a while then come and catch me." said Holly.

"Seriously? You're losing your mind. It's too dangerous. I might not be able to get there in 10 minutes. And even if I can distract them and come after you, it's too dark right now, so I won't be able to see where you're falling down to. I can't risk that." replied Daniel with a worried and serious tone and expression.

"Hey. You can find me. I know you can. And we have to do this. You know that. This is the only way for at least one of us to survive. Drop me before they come." said Holly giving Daniel a small smile. Then without a reply, Daniel gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. It was a quick kiss, but they both liked it. Holly was a bit shocked. Then Daniel began;

"I know we broke up. But I might not have forgotten about you." said Daniel.

Then Holly smiled and gave Daniel a nod.

"I'll definitely come and get you. I'll make this quick." said Daniel. And dropped Holly.

** "Jace."** I called.

"You scared me a bit there. Are you okay?" asked Jace.

"Yeah. I just need time. Thank you. But I think I can stand." I said.

"It's nothing. You saved me on the day of semi-formal so. And no, you can't stand up. You're dying. I'll carry you." replied Jace.

"Thanks. But Wait. So I fell down and you came after me... What about Daniel and Holly?" I asked. Then Jace gave me a sad look.

"You promised not to do this. You promised to not come after any of us even if we were dying." I was now yelling.

"You were dying. What was I supposed to do? Just let you die?" Jace yelled back.

"Well, if you haven't come after me, then there would be only one person dead! Now there's going to be two people dead." I yelled.

But then before Jace could reply and yell back at me again, I saw a person with blonde hair passing by us and falling down. Then I saw several dead Erasers falling down after that person.

"How did Daniel kill them all? I thought he was carrying Holly." asked Jace. He looked a bit confused.

"Yeah? How did he kill them all with Holly in his arms?" I asked as well.

Then both mine and Jace's eyes widened. And we could see each other's eyes widen. Then we looked down. Then we both began;

"Unless he dropped Holly." We said at the same time.

"We have to go get her." I said desperately with extremely worried tone and expression.

"I can't carry both of you." said Jace. I could clearly see that he couldn't since he had some severe injuries of his own. So I couldn't ask twice.

"I'll fly on my own. So can you go get her? Please Jace?" I asked sincerely.

"You'll fall if I let you fly alone. I can't let you die." said Jace.

Then we felt someone flying towards us from above. So we faced up. And we saw Daniel flying towards us. But he did not stop to talk, so Jace flew down with him while carrying me. So I yelled;

"Daniel! Holly's falling. And Jace can't get her because of me." I yelled.

"I know." Daniel replied.

"You dropped her and let her fall? asked Jace.

"No. Yes. I mean both. We have a plan." said Daniel.

"Okay. But Where are the Erasers?" I asked.

"They're dead. I killed the rest of them." said Daniel.

"Wow. Really? You killed them all? You're good, man." said Jace.

"Thanks, man." replied Daniel.

"So where is she now?" I asked.

"I don't know." Daniel replied.

"What? You don't know where she is?" I asked with both angry and worried tone.

"Well. He couldn't really drop her to a specific location, could he?" said Jace.

"I know, but then how are you going to find her? I mean it's really dark and you can barely see us." I asked.

"I don't know. But I'll find her." Daniel replied. He did not look confident, but his face said he will find her.

"Okay. I'm all healed now. So we'll all separate to look for her." I said.

Then we all separated to find Holly.

After about 30 minutes, Jace and I gathered, but Daniel was still looking.

"Did you find her?" I asked. Jace did not reply, but shook his head sideways.

So we flew towards Daniel.

"Daniel. We need to rest. It's almost 12o'clock already. I am as worried as you are, but we looked around for too long. I know she survived this. I do know. But we have to stop for today, Maybe she fell on a bushy tree and went home safely. I don't know. But I know she survived this." I said and gave Daniel a hug.

"I swore to save her. I did." said Daniel and he hugged me back tightly. Now he sounded like he was crying.

I've never seen Daniel cry in my life. He must still love Holly and cherish her. Then I tilted my face to face Jace. And I gave him a sad look, and he sighed.

I couldn't save her. I thought I could save everyone that I cherished. I thought I could save the people who knew about our secret. But I keep putting them in danger. Just like my sister was put in danger because of me... I felt tears dripping down my face.

I wasn't even sure if she was even alive or not... I lost another person today. And I knew I'll keep losing someone until all this ends. And I hugged Daniel tighter as I felt my tears dripping down my face.

**"Daniel? Kristina? Jace?"** someone called.

Then without a word, we immediately turned around to face whoever called our names.

Then I saw a girl. She had beautiful straight blonde hair, pale white skin, and green eyes.

And there was a big shadow behind her.

They were pale white. Beautifully golden white.

And without a second glance, I knew what they were.

It was something that Jace, Daniel, and I all physically had in common.

It was Holly.

And she was flying.

She now had wings.

Just like us.

Now, I found the 4th member of my flock.


End file.
